Austin Toros Second Half Rally Comes Up Short as They Fall to Reno at The Cedar Park Center

CEDAR PARK - With a six game win streak on the line and an anxious crowd set to enjoy the first basketball game played at The Cedar Park Center, the Austin Toros took on an energized Reno Bighorns team Tuesday night. Reno did little wrong over the first two quarters as they scorched the nets with their outside shooting and used their quickness to get to the basket before holding off a late Toros rally to come away with a 109-97 win.

Reno held an eight point lead at the 1:59 mark of the first quarter after a Desmon Farmer jumper made it 24-16. Austin’s Alonzo Gee helped chip away at the lead when he exploded to the basket for a dunk shot that was followed by back-to-back Malik Hairston three pointers that resulted in an 8-0 run to tie the game up at 24-24 at the end of the first quarter.

Reno started the second quarter on fire from the field as they outscored Austin 12-1 over the first four minutes of the quarter to take a 36-25 lead. Reno hit three straight three pointers during the stretch to help them build their double digit lead.

The Toros trailed by as much as 15 points in the second quarter but managed to cut the lead down to 42-55 on a Curtis Jerrells lay-up just seconds before the end of the first half.

Some defensive intensity and sharp outside shooting from Malik Hairston helped get the Toro offense going in the third quarter. When Hairston hit a jumper at the 1:37 mark the Reno lead was all the way down to 71-69. Gee then hit a pair of free throws and Hairston scooped in a lay-up leaving Austin trailing by only a single point at 73-74 going in to the fourth quarter.

Reno was able to extend the lead to 85-77 with 8:59 left in the game when Chris Davis scored his 10th point of the night after pulling down an offensive rebound and putting it back in. Austin battled back to within three points when Jerrells and Squeaky Johnson combined for nine points leaving the Reno lead at 88-86 with 7:02 left in the game.

Austin fought to stay close but Reno was able to extend their lead behind some outstanding shooting by Reno big man Rod Benson and some solid free throw shooting. The Toros missed several key shots down the stretch as they looked to score quickly with the hopes of taking the lead. A Mo Charlo dunk shot with just second to go in the game capped the late Reno run as they took the win by a score of 109-97.

The Toro's Malik Hairston led all scorers with 29 points. Alonzo Gee was 7-of-14 from the field to finish with 20 points. Dwayne Jones continued his outstanding play to finish with 13 points and 19 rebounds.

Reno was led in scoring by Rod Benson with his 26 points. Teammate Desmon Farmer totaled 23 points on the night.

Both teams will square off again Wednesday night at The Cedar Park Center with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm.