When push came to shove, Kyle Schellin went to what worked the first time around.
For the second time in as many meetings, Spanish Springs came out firing on nearly all cylinders in the first half. But just like last time, Schellin made the adjustments at halftime for Reno and the No. 2 Huskies pulled out the victory, 59-52 Tuesday night at Spanish Springs.
When all Reno's full-court trap did in the first two quarters was yield high-quality shots and easy points for the fourth-ranked Cougars, Schellin pulled things back a bit and went to a man pressure defense in the frontcourt. The specific results -- numerous, costly turnovers -- were not the same, but the good shot attempts for the hosts were no longer for the taking.
"They made a good change," Spanish Springs coach Kyle Penney said. "They were pressuring and we were good enough to beat it for easy buckets and we did. They made a great change, trying to slow it down and make a half-court game, where they're very good."
The Cougars (15-7, 4-3 High Desert) may have scored the same number of points in the first half as the second, but they came on a much lower percentage shooting and the errant attempts allowed the Huskies to erase what was an 11-point deficit midway through the second quarter.
"Ultimately, we understood they'd break it," Schellin said of the full-court trap, "but we were trying to get the tempo of the game going. We had to get out of it, though, because we were giving up too many good shots."
The Huskies (12-12, 7-1) took a seven-point lead quickly in the third quarter on eight straight points from senior Zach Sanford, as part of an 18-0 run that transcended the second and third periods.
"I wanted to some out and get us off on the right track, whether it was defensively or offensively," said Sanford, who tallied the Huskies first 10 points of the second half and finished with a team-high 15. "We knew we had to keep fighting; they had us down the first time, too."
Even after losing the lead, the Cougars bounced back to retake it midway through the fourth quarter, which featured three lead changes. But Reno made the plays the hold a four-point advantage in the final 2 minutes and Thomas Perkins missed two 3-pointers from the left corner in the final 90 seconds.
"A couple possession here or there and we're knocking on the door," Penney said. "I know our kids can play. They showed they can play."
The win, which brought Reno to the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 20, was all the more impressive considering leading scorer Austin Morgan was held to just three field goals and all six of his free throws came in the waning minute.
Morgan didn't miss a lot of shots, he just had a hard time finding them.
"I just got done telling him that good players find a way to be effective even when they're not (scoring)," Schellin said.
Conversely, though, Spanish Springs' top scorer, Taelor Marchbanks, also was held to three field goals and six points. Danny Lide picked up the slack with 22 points.