Nielsen Ratings Rise and So Does Royal
The player best equipped to dominate a game was wandering the court during the first half like a lost puppy.
What’s a coach to do?
“I told him at halftime, ‘Hey, have fun,’ ” Royal High Coach Larry Wiksell said.
Ryan Nielsen scored 21 points in the second half as the Highlanders defeated Agoura, 78-70, on Friday night at Royal and assumed sole possession of first place in the Marmonte League.
After scoring only four points in the first half, Nielsen began methodically sinking one short turnaround jump shot after another.
When Agoura resorted to fouling him, Nielsen sank seven of nine free throws.
“I had to concentrate more and get my head in the game,” said Nielsen, a 6-foot-5 junior. “The first half I was spaced out, thinking about nothing. Coach had a talk with me at halftime and all of a sudden everything clicked.”
The victory put Royal (13-5, 6-2 in league play) a game in front of the Chargers (11-6, 5-3), whose five-game winning streak ended.
Agoura stayed close by making a string of three-point shots and converting several three-point plays in the second half, but turned the ball over several times down the stretch.
“Our defense the last three minutes was the difference,” said Wiksell.
Agoura led, 66-65, with three minutes 30 seconds to play on Ryan Yeager’s third three-pointer of the half, but Royal scored seven of the next eight points to take a 72-67 lead with one minute left.
“Royal played harder than we did, with more intensity and more fire,” Agoura Coach Kevin Pasky said. “Nielsen stepped up and we faded out emotionally.”
Marques Pena had 16 points for Royal, scoring several times on uncontested layups after long outlet passes. Scott Schnetzler had 15 and Nick Flanagan added 14.
Yeager scored 20 points for Agoura. Joel Weiss added 18 and Brian Laibow had 16.
Royal led, 37-31, at halftime, but Agoura had three three-point shots and a three-point play to take a 44-41 lead.
Nielsen scored eight points in the third quarter to give the Highlanders a 52-48 lead entering the final period.
