BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The Battle Mountain High School varsity boys basketball team faced two of the best 3A teams in the state in a four-day span.
The Longhorns (9-14 overall, 0-7 Ruby Mountain League) lost to Elko 71-39 at home on Tuesday, Jan. 31. They then made the short trip to Winnemucca on Friday, losing 69-27 to Lowry.
Elko posted a 17-7 lead after eight minutes of play. The Indians broke the game open with a 23-4 run in the second quarter to hold a 40-11 advantage at halftime.
After scoring just 11 points in the opening half, the Longhorns came out of the break to outscore the Indians 17-14 in the third period to cut the deficit to 54-28.
That was as close as Battle Mountain got, with Elko opening a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter while going on to pick up the win and remaining atop the Ruby Mountain League standings.
Jeremy Price paced Battle Mountain with 14 points, including four 3-point field goals, to go with three rebounds and one steal. James Willingham picked up nine points and three rebounds and Marco Rangel had five points, seven blocks, four rebounds and two steals. Ryan Salazar had five points as well, along with three assists, and Terryn Sondermann and Dwight Douglas scored two points apiece.
Battle Mountain started quickly at Lowry, with Willingham scoring six of the Longhorns' first eight points in helping build an 8-4 lead three minutes into the game. However, the Longhorns scored just three points in the next 15 minutes and were held scoreless in the second period.
"I don't think either of our defenses worked well tonight," said BMHS head coach Roger Wallock. "I thought Lowry moved the ball well around the floor and we could not key on one thing they did. When (Calvin) Connors is on the floor for them, he creates things on the floor. He makes everyone better."
The Buckaroos finished the first half on a 34-3 run to lead 38-11 at halftime. The only points for the Longhorns in that stretch was a 3-point field goal by Willingham, who scored 17 of Battle Mountain's 27 points.
"James shot well for us tonight but then we will have someone else hot on another night," Wallock said. "We just have to find ways to score points and we are not doing that right now. If I had the answers we would have fixed it."
Willingham ended Battle Mountain's scoreless streak with 6:54 left in the third quarter on a 3-point shot and later added five more points to bring the Longhorns within 23 points at 42-19. Dwight Douglas connected on a 3-point field goal late in the third quarter to make the score 53-26, but those were the final points of the night for Battle Mountain.
The Buckaroos held the Longhorns scoreless for a quarter for the second time with a 14-0 run in the final eight minutes, as the game was played with a running clock for the final four minutes.
Battle Mountain was scheduled to host Spring Creek on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. The Longhorns host West Wendover on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and White Pine on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
"We are gearing up for this weekend and we need one win to get in the regional tournament and extend our season by a week," Wallock said. "We are going to have a tough time if we don't get better."
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