Pilgrims outlast Nyssa
New Plymouth ends game on big run, beats Bulldogs
By Wil Anderson
Argus Observer
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 10:26 AM PST
| |
| New Plymouth’s Carson Knapp (4) goes up for a shot against Nyssa’s Eric Jensen (left) during the first quarter of play, Tuesday in New Plymouth. Knapp missed the shot but connected on one of the two free throws that followed. |
NEW PLYMOUTH — With less than seven minutes to play, New Plymouth’s Nolan Kerby started a run for the Pilgrim boys basketball team that carried through to end the game.
Trailing 39-38, Kerby drained a 3-pointer, giving the Pilgrims a two- point lead over opponent Nyssa. New Plymouth went on to score nine straight points, outscored the Bulldogs 15-4 in the fourth quarter and clinched a season opening 53-43 nonconference win Tuesday in New Plymouth.
Following Kerby’s shot, Seth Bodas, Brett McLees and Jake Mellenthin each hit field goals in the next two and a half minutes to extend the Pilgrim lead to 47-39.
Nyssa returned the favor with a pair of field goals by Jesse Martinez and Eric Jensen, to pull within four points.
Carson Knapp, Kerby and McLees each added another field goal for the Pilgrims, as they finished off the game and the Bulldogs.
“With the six kids we played, they gave me all they had for three-plus quarters,” Nyssa head coach Gabe Fuentes said. “They played the whole game, which is tough to do, especially the first game of the season.”
The Bulldogs were playing without four players, who were serving a three-game suspension for violating team rules.
Even with the missing players, Nyssa was able to put pressure on the Pilgrims.
After the first half of play, New Plymouth was clinging to a 29-19 lead. In the second half, the Bulldogs started off hot with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes, and Martinez scoring five of those points. Each team then exchanged a pair of field goals before Nyssa’s Cole Froerer knocked down two free throws to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 34-33, with 2:33 left in the third quarter.
McLees hit a 3-pointer for the Pilgrims as part of his game-high 19 points, but Froerer hit a field goal to tie the game heading into the final stanza.
“We came out flat,” New Plymouth head coach Mark Van Weerdhuizen said of the second half. “We were hitting our shots in the first half. In the third (quarter), we were not hitting them. We started to take some good shots (in the fourth quarter) and get more into a rhythm.”
Knapp scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Pilgrims, while Bodas finished with 13 points. Nyssa was led by Martinez with 14 points, while Jensen added 10 and Froerer added nine.
The Bulldogs (0-1 overall) are back in action Thursday when they travel to Baker, while New Plymouth travels to Homedale, Tuesday.
