Somero’s 38 points earn Tigers win over Centurions
Nash Somero is quickly making a name for himself in 3-A basketball. Somero dropped 38 points against Broome on Jan. 17 and is averaging nearly 30 points per region game.
Nash Somero desperately wanted revenge.
Last year, when he stepped onto the court at Broome High School, Somero experienced one of the worst moments of his Blue Ridge basketball career.
After leading by as many as 12, his Tigers let the Centurions claw back. Broome hit a buzzer-beating layup to win by one point.
The worst part? It came from the player Somero was guarding. He drove straight past Somero to the basket as time expired.
“I’ve literally been thinking about that play since last year,” said Somero.
This time around, Somero got the last laugh. The junior point guard came into Broome and tore the Centurions to shreds, dropping 38 points to lead the Tigers (8-12, 3-0 region) to a crucial 60-49 victory.
Somero’s 38-point total was good for his second-highest-scoring game ever.
“This feels really good,” said Somero. “I came in wanting to get some revenge, and I feel like I did.”
“Nash is one of those kids that can just go and get buckets,” said Blue Ridge head coach Richie Stevens. “I learned as a kid that good guard play is going to win you big games. Nash can make plays. He has the ability to pull games out for us like he did tonight.”
Somero had 24 points by halftime and looked poised to earn his second 40-point game in three weeks. He dropped 43 on Dec. 29 against Chapman. But stifling man defense and, at times, double teams prevented Somero from getting great looks.
That didn’t stop him from hitting several big shots in crunch time.
With Blue Ridge trailing 41-38 after three quarters, Somero helped orchestrate a 22-8 final frame for the Tigers. He hit multiple pull-up midrange jumpers and racked up timely assists to widen Blue Ridge’s fourth-quarter lead, before later sealing the win from the free-throw line.
Exactly 372 days since Somero’s worst basketball nightmare came true, he put together a dream performance on the same court.
What’s changed the most for Somero since that day? He and Stevens concur. It’s his conduct and decision-making on the court.
“My attitude’s a lot different. I’m just trusting what [Coach Stevens] tells me and listening to him,” said Somero. “I’ve had to block out the noise, too, because our fans will tell me to shoot every time I get the ball.”
Somero laughed.
“Like, even when I’m standing at half-court with the ball, the fans are out there telling me to shoot. It’s weird.”
“He’s had a complete shift in his mindset,” said Stevens. “Last year, if things weren’t going right for him or if he and I disagreed about something, he’d kind of walk off and hang his head. That doesn’t happen anymore.
“He’s such a good kid. That’s what makes it so easy to coach him.”
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
BR 13 18 7 22 - 60
Broome 9 14 18 8 - 49
STAT LEADERS
Blue Ridge
Nash Somero - 38 points
Paul Bishop - 8 points
Trey Bradley - 6 points
Nick Poole - 4 points
Parker Harris - 2 points
Ty’Korian Campbell - 2 points
Broome
Xavier Hill - 17 points
Lance Henderson - 8 points
Levi Bishop - 8 points
DT Thompson - 6 points
Kamajay Bracket-Brannon - 6 points