Boys Basketball: Taft trio troubles Prosser

Updated: January 17, 2012 8:43PM

Taft proved the adage right that you need three consistent scorers to win.

Only three players scored in the first half, but John Joyce, Josh Doss and Tim Reamer took turns dominating.

In a showdown between two teams with just one conference loss, the three proved a lethal and highly promising combination as the host Eagles defeated Prosser 61-48 Tuesday on the Northwest side.

Joyce, a sophomore swingman with a superb outside touch, drilled three three-pointers in scoring 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for the Eagles (13-6, 5-1 Red-North).

“I have a lot of confidence with my shot, and my team did a great job of looking for me and getting me the ball where I could be effective with it,” Joyce said.

Joyce delivered the dagger, but he was set up by the play of Doss and Reamer. A junior guard, Doss scored nine of his 16 points in the first quarter.

“He got us off to a great start and [Prosser] had to start looking for him, and it opened things up for me,” Joyce said.

The second quarter belonged to Reamer, an athletic 6-6 senior forward. He scored 11 consecutive Eagles’ points that shifted the tide in Taft’s favor. Reamer scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half.

The game was tied at 21 with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter when Reamer started his scoring barrage. In a frenzied stretch, Reamer scored on an array of inside post moves, rebound baskets and shots in the lane that propelled the Eagles to the 36-23 lead at the break.

“We have a good passing team, and a lot of that came out of passing out of the post and I was able to use my size to get inside,” Reamer said.

Joyce’s hot third quarter appeared to put the game out of reach. He ended it with a 17-footer from the left wing that pushed the lead to 51-35.

The Falcons (11-6, 4-2) stormed back behind the inspired play of senior forward Laphonzo McGraw (team-best 11 points). He scored six points on a three-pointer and a three-point play that ignited a 9-0 Prosser push.

Taft’s lead was suddenly down to seven points. Joyce responded with a step back three-pointer from the left baseline that restored the Eagles’ double-digit advantage. He followed with another short jumper.

“Our coach [Brett Nishibayashi] always preaches about not losing our composure,” Doss said. “We just had to calm down, and fortunately we had big-time players that made big plays.”

Junior Anton Heard contributed nine points and Greg Caballero added eight points for the Falcons.

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.