Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Prep Basketball:

Eligibility issues plague Rancho

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Missing three of its starters to ineligibility, Rancho had a hard time keeping up with Desert Pines in a 77-62 loss at home Friday night.

With nearly an empty bench, the Rams (3-11, 1-4) kept themselves alive with an 11-4 run to open the third quarter after trailing 43-30 at the half. But with fewer subs than the Jaguars (15-5, 5-0) and some of their best players missing, including Byron Bynum, who is averaging 23 points per game, the team struggled down the stretch.

"It was an up-and-down game, our bench was definitely depleted because of eligibility," said Rams coach Melvin Shivers. "It's frustrating, the season has been like that, it's been a week-to-week thing. Teams have to fear us though, because they never know who's going to be playing."

It was an inconsistent night for the top team in the Northeast League, especially on defense. The Jaguars played aggressively on Rancho's guards, forcing 14 turnovers, but seemed to forget about their big men, often giving up uncontested layups.

Rams forwards Fabian Dominguez finished with 16 points in the paint and Tyler Gaston posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

"Dominguez really gives us a presence down low," Shivers said. "He's got soft hands, good feet. We needed just a little more out of him when our bench is depleted like that but he's a tremendous worker and a good player."

According to some of the players, it wasn't the first time the Jaguars have had trouble guarding larger players.

"They did a good job getting the ball to those guys," said Jaguars forward Cliff Harrell. "That really has been a problem for us all year. I think it's our help defense. When that point guard penetrates and brings us up, if they have a decent big man down there he's going to score off that. We just need to have smarter pressure by our guards."

The Rams held a 18-17 lead after the first quarter, but had trouble defensively containing the Desert Pines guards. Senior guard Pierre Jackson was in charge of getting the team back in rhythm all night, scoring 21 points. Junior guard Tyler Larson also shot the ball well for the Jaguars, finishing with 13 points.

Although it wasn't the team's best performance of the season, Desert Pines did step up when it needed to, outscoring the Rams 19-4 in the fourth quarter.

"The main thing is we've got to close it out," said Jaguars coach Chancellor Davis. "When you've got a team down, you cannot allow them to think they can still win the game, you've got to put them away. Coming out and getting the conference win on the road and finishing them off in the end was big."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].

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