Take how well the then No. 4 Douglas boys' basketball team came out against No. 2 Hug two weeks ago in Reno and flip-flop it, and you'd have a good picture of what happened Saturday night as the Hawks came to Minden.
Hug, now ranked No. 4 in the region, avenged the 93-72 loss at home with a 77-67 victory over the No. 2 Tigers Saturday to create a logjam for the Sierra League title that will be much clearer after Douglas hosts Reno Tuesday.
"It was the same thing we've been struggling with the last few games," Douglas coach Rob Streeter said. "We came out flat, turned the ball over on our first four possessions and committed two fouls. We just never got back in it.
"That was a different team over there. They picked up their ball pressure a lot and they were just the better team tonight."
After Hug pulled through the first quarter with a 13-10 lead, Douglas ran off a quick 4-0 run with two free throws from Jeff Nady and a basket from Nate Whalin to take a 14-13 lead.
Hug responded with an 11-2 run that Douglas was never able to fully recover from, although the Tigers did narrow the deficit down to four several times throughout the remainder.
"We just couldn't get things going," Streeter said. "We had a lot of missed opportunities, missed some easy shots and made some poor decisions. We just weren't ready to play tonight."
Hug's Armon Johnson led all scorers with 29 points, which Douglas amazingly probably could have overcome, had it not been for guard Riley Rowe, who followed Johnson up with 28 points and five 3-pointers, all of which came at times Douglas was trying to mount a rally. Outside of those two, Hug only had four other players put points on the board for a combined 16 points.
Keith Olson scored 22 points to lead the Tigers and Nady added 15.
Mike Gransbery and Kevin Emm each had seven points, David Laird had five, Whalin had four, Joe Nady had three and James McLaughlin had two.
Douglas still controls its own destiny, aside from having already clinched a playoff spot.
If the Tigers can beat Reno by six points on Tuesday, Douglas would be in position to claim the Sierra League title by virtue of the NIAA regional tiebreaker formula. The Tigers would then have to win their remaining two contests against Damonte Ranch and Wooster to seal up the No. 1 seed.
A win by less than six points against Reno would still put the Tigers in position to host a first-round playoff game if they can sweep Damonte and Wooster. A loss in any of the three would send the Tigers on the road.
Douglas (19-7, 9-2) hosts Reno at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
The Douglas girls' basketball team remained in position to claim the No. 3 seed out of the Sierra League, avenging an loss to Hug earlier in the season with a balanced 59-42 win over the Hawks Saturday night.
Jessica Waggoner and Dana Pardee continued to improve in their dual-post roles as each put up 17 points against the Hawks.
Dany Heidt scored 12, Sarah Hartley had five, Bridget Maestretti scored four and Taryn Williams and Lisa Christen each had two in the win.
Hug built an early 5-2 lead in the game, but the Lady Tigers clamped down defensively and put together a 9-0 run to go out front 11-5.
Hug answered with a 12-0 run sparked by two 3-pointers from Vickie Po, extending through the end of the first quarter to go back up 17-11, but Douglas turned around with yet another big run, this time 13-1 to go up for good.
The Hawks threatened but never regained the lead from that point.
The Tigers entered the fourth quarter with a 43-32 lead but Hug narrowed the lead back down to eight before Douglas put up a final big run, this time 8-0, to put the game away.
Heidt and Maestretti each hit a 3-pointer in the game as Douglas improved to 12-13 overall and 6-5 in Sierra League play with the win. The Tigers must win two more games to clinch the No. 3 seed.
n Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
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