DIVISION III BOYS: Jake Epstein bounces back, helps The Meadows earn spot in state final

RENO — Things couldn't have been much worse Jake Epstein in the first 15 minutes of his team's game on Friday.

The leading scorer for The Meadows missed his first eight shots, and the team trailed Pershing County 29-18. Then the junior guard came alive.

Epstein got two transition baskets before halftime, then scored 21 second-half points to lead The Meadows to a 63-54 win in the Division III boys state basketball semifinals at UNR's Lawlor Events Center. The Meadows (26-3) plays Yerington (26-3) in the title game at 12:50 p.m. Saturday.

"I made two shots at the end of the half," Epstein said. "Just seeing the ball go through the net two times right before the end of the half kind of gave me a little confidence going into the second half."

After the 0-for-8 start, Epstein made six of his next seven shots, including three consecutive 3-point attempts. His 3-pointer from the right wing tied the game at 35 with 5:11 to go in the third quarter, and after a steal, he hit a 23-footer to give The Meadows the lead for good.

"After I made a couple, I just had a lot of confidence going into the third quarter and the fourth quarter," Epstein said. "I was open and I was firing."

Epstein made 10 of his final 16 shots, and was 5-for-7 on 3-pointers in the second half.

"That was the difference," The Meadows coach Gary Hannig said.

That and a change on defense. The Meadows went to a full-court press in the second quarter, and forced 14 turnovers from that point.

"Obviously things weren't going our way," Hannig said. "We were down 23-9, and we just made a decision that we've got to change the tempo. We went to our 2-2-1 press, which is a staple of our program. That seemed to change the tempo of the game a little bit. We started getting different shots."

Those turnovers led to transition baskets, including the two by Epstein in the final 44 seconds of the half that cut the lead to 29-22.

"You could see them struggle when we put the press on," Epstein said. "They like more of a half-court game, so they can set up their offense. So when we put on the press, you get more pressure and they started turning the ball over. We got more tempo, which is the way we like to play."

The Meadows usually shoots the ball well from the perimeter, but was dismal in the first half, making 2 of 14 3-point attempts. The Meadows was 7-for-10 on 3s in the second half.

"That's not like our team," Hannig said of the cold start. "We've got two or three guards that can really shoot the ball. The second half, we really started knocking them down."

While The Meadows started cold, Pershing County (20-8) was just the opposite, making 5 of 8 3-pointers to start the game.

"We kind of weathered the storm," Hannig said. "You're looking at the score. You're down six, you're down eight, you're down 12. We kind of weathered it, and then we went on our own run."

Max Hisatake added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and teammate Asheesh Chopra had 14 points for The Meadows.

William Gattrell led Pershing County with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Yerington 52, Mountain View 46 — Tevin Gray scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, but the Saints couldn't complete the comeback.

"He's been our leader all season," Mountain View coach Ray LeBoeuf said of Gray, who added eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. "On this stage to be behind the whole game, and yet he kept his team up. He kept working hard. And not only was he shooting very well, but he also made some really nice passes."

Gray's third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter cut the Yerington lead to 45-42 with 3:15 to play. The Saints had a chance to cut it to two after a basket by Bernard Williams, but he was unable to complete the three-point play, and Yerington held a 47-44 lead with 2:05 to go.

Chris Brown then hit a long 3-pointer from the right wing with 54 seconds left to push the lead to six and essentially seal it for the Lions.

Brown finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead Yerington, and teammate Samuele Hammond had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Mountain View (20-9) struggled shooting the ball throughout, making just 17 of 62 field goals (27.4 percent). The Saints were 8-for-35 on 3-pointers (22.9 percent) and just 4-for-13 from the line (30.7 percent).

"They battled," LeBoeuf said of his team. "I can't take anything away from their effort. It was fantastic. If we make a few shots, a few free throws and I don't blow it on a stupid timeout, we're right there."