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Truckee basketball: Boys lose to Incline at home

Sylas Wright
Sierra Sun
Sylas Wright/Sierra SunTruckee junior Tony Rodriguez goes up strong for a layup attempt during the second half of the Wolverines' 60-45 loss against Incline on Tuesday.
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TRUCKEE and#8212; Visiting Incline overwhelmed Truckee with a combination of solid guard and post play to earn a 60-45 nonleague win Tuesday.

After jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead, the Highlanders limited Truckee to six points in the opening quarter and nine points in the third quarter while holding the Wolverines to their lowest scoring output of the season.

and#8220;That was just a mess,and#8221; said Truckee head coach Mike Hoehn, whose Wolverines fell to 4-4 with the loss. and#8220; … It was just a flat-out butt-kicking out of the gate. We could not match up with them.and#8221;



Incline, which improved to 9-1 on the season, took advantage of its distinct size advantage from the get-go. Particularly senior forward Ryan Lee, who pulled down five of his game-high 13 rebounds in the first 3 minutes. He finished with eight points, while fellow senior forward Josh Dykstra led the Highlanders with 17 points.

When the Highlanders were not scoring inside and#8212; Truckee could have used the size of junior forward Ben Bolton, who was away on vacation and#8212; their guards knocked down shots from the perimeter at a high percentage, led by a 16-point effort from senior Micha Corneil on a 4-of-5 day behind the 3-point arc.



and#8220;I think offensively we were able to find the open man to find uncontested shots,and#8221; said Incline head coach Dan Schreiber. and#8220;I tell our guys we don’t want to take the first shot, we want to take the best shot.and#8221;

The Wolverines fought back in the second quarter to match the Highlanders’ 12 points as Incline took a 27-18 lead into the half.

Senior guards Tyler Ferris and Matt Mehan provided the bulk of Truckee’s offense, with Ferris leading all scorers with 20 points and Mehan scoring 10. Ferris, who dropped 29 points in the Wolverines’ previous game against North Valleys, converted 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

Incline came out after the half firing on both ends of the floor. On offense, senior point guard Michael Ceragioli used his quickness to penetrate into the lane and distribute the ball to his big men, while on defense the Highlanders heeded their coach’s advice to plug the gaps through which Truckee guards drove in the second quarter.

and#8220;They shut down our driving game,and#8221; Hoehn said. and#8220;Then we started taking outside shots, and nothing was falling. We just didn’t do a good job of scoring.and#8221;

Schreiber said he addressed his team at the halftime break about picking up its defensive intensity. The speech went long, as the Highlanders were called for a delay of game after being tardy for the start of the third quarter.

and#8220;We were a little sluggish (in the second quarter), which is why I held them long at half,and#8221; Schreiber said. and#8220; … But we played better in the third quarter. We opened it up to 18 points real quick, which is what we’re capable of doing.and#8221;

Truckee fell behind 46-27 by the end of the third quarter, then scored 18 points to Incline’s 14 in the final quarter to narrow the final margin to 15.

and#8220;That main group has played together for three years now at the varsity level, and that’s a nice thing,and#8221; Hoehn said of the Highlanders. and#8220;We’re still trying to figure ourselves out.and#8221;


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