When it comes to heartbreak, singles on Valentine's Day have nothing on the Carey Panthers.
Second-seeded Carey suffered a 61-58 overtime loss to third-ranked Camas County in the boys' Northside Conference tournament in Shoshone Tuesday.
It was the first time this season the Mushers (16-5) have knocked off the Panthers. Carey (15-9) captured three previous matchups, outscoring the Mushers by an average of nine points and outing. Camas' previous high total against Carey was 51. They went 10 better on Tuesday.
"We were just flat," Carey coach Dick Simpson said. "I don't know why. I don't think we were tired. We just never got off on a good foot."
Both teams got out of the gate slowly. Camas held an 8-5 advantage after one frame, but outscored Carey 17-11 in the second to lead 25-16 at halftime.
Paced by junior guard Tyler Cook, who scored 16 points in the second half -- and 12 in the fourth frame, Carey climbed back in the contest in the final quarter.
Trailing by 10 points, the Panthers went wild, pumping in 22 points, while limiting the Mushers to 12 to make up the deficit. Tadd Green, still fighting illness, scored six in the frame to back up Cook, and the Panthers (14-for-22) were also clutch from the charity stripe, sinking six of seven attempts.
"If we made the seventh, we might have won," Simpson said. "If is the biggest word in our vocabulary."
With 1:19 remaining in regulation, Cook connected on a three-pointer to put the Panthers on top, 51-49.
Simpson described the action in the final minute.
"(With that much time left) I knew we had to play. They got the ball and missed and then we ended up getting a 10 second call against us. They missed again and we got the rebound. At that point there was about 30 seconds on the clock.
"We advanced it down the side and Tyler got double-teamed. His crosscourt pass was picked off by (Kyle) Menck and he got the lay in."
The bucket tied the game 51-all and sent it to a four-minute overtime period.
The Mushers were rock-solid in OT, draining 10 of 12 free throws to win by four.
Carey posted six points, of which Simpson said, "We just did not score enough," and added, "But give them credit. They shot 12 and made 10. Every time you play someone the odds go against you a little more and a little more."
With nary a senior on a Carey squad, comprised of six juniors and four sophomores, Simpson said inexperience may have played a part in the loss.
"We just did not take care of business. We didn't play hardly at all in the first half and in the second it was almost like we were in a state of panic. Instead of playing our game and letting things happen, we were trying to make things happen that were almost impossible."
Despite the fact that the Panthers will miss the state 1A tournament for only the fourth time in 13 years, Simpson was sanguine the day after the loss.
"It was a tough loss, but we all woke up the next morning. You learn something every time you play and I think the team can build on this. We'll play some summer ball, go to some camps and get back on track for next year. Everyone thinks we are going to be the top dog, but you still have to show up and play and prove it."
Cook (6 rebounds) finished with 17 points. Green added 12, Brad Hunt (7 rebounds) 10, Devin Simpson 8, Allen Peck 5, and Cody Baird 5.
Travis Van Gelder's 20 points led all scorers. Mike Blodgett and Menck tallied 10 points apiece.
As the first and second place teams in the Northside Conference tournament, Richfield and Camas County will attend the 16-team State 1A tourney March 2-5 at Caldwell.
Simpson closed with, "I think if we had played the first 16 minutes of the ball game like we played the last quarter, it would have been different. But that's why we play the games."
For the season, Carey totaled 1,369 points for an average of 52.6 points per game. Opponents tallied 1,204 points for a 46.3 game average.
Tadd Green compiled 367 points for 14.1 ppg. Cook (11.7) scored 306 points and sunk 69 of the team's 111 3-pointers. Peck (29 treys) and Hunt hit for 198 points apiece to average 7.6 ppg. Also contributing to the team's point total were Baird with 102, Simpson 84, James Carlson 44, Bryan Hill 30, Luke Harmon 28 and Ben Neilson 8.
Tyler Cook loomed large throughout the Northside Conference tournament. The Panthers' junior guard averaged 15 ppg. throughout the playoffs and drained 15 three-pointers.
