LOVELOCK - It looked to be a promising start for the Battle Mountain High School varsity boys basketball team Thursday in Lovelock, but a 16-minute stretch in the second and third quarters proved to be costly in a 51-27 loss to rival Pershing County.
The Longhorns (9-3), who were playing their first game against a 2A opponent (the previous 11 were against 1A schools), led the Mustangs 15-13 after a quarter of play. However, Battle Mountain made just one field goal and four points in the second and third quarters combined, as Pershing County went on a 25-4 run.
"We made a couple of shots in the first quarter and could not make one after that," said BMHS head coach Roger Wallock. "I asked the guys if they were physically tired and they said it wasn't their thing. It was just frustration in the ability not to make a basket."
Trailing 7-2 early in the game, Battle Mountain responded with two quick baskets from Jeremy Price and James Willingham to keep the deficit at 9-7. The Mustangs answered with four straight points to stretch the advantage to 13-7, when the Longhorns scored the final eight points of the quarter to lead 15-13. During that run, Ryan Salazar and Price hit back-to-back 3-point field goals and Price ended the period with a layup.
Pershing County opened the second quarter with five straight points to take a three-point lead, when Kyle Bryant made two free throws to close the gap to a point. That turned out to be the only points for Battle Mountain in the period. The Mustangs finished the first half with eight consecutive points to lead 26-17 at the break.
"We are not a 3-point shooting team," Wallock said. "We will make some and we have to understand we can't rely on it. Lovelock was just giving us the shot all night. Our offense is designed to get those shots but it is also designed for us to drive to the basket and draw contact."
Pershing County capped off a 23-2 run with the first 10 points of the second half to increase the advantage to 36-17. Battle Mountain ended its 14-minute stretch without a field goal at the 1:54 mark of the third quarter on a layup by Ryan Salazar. The Longhorns used back-to-back baskets by Salazar and Daniel Itza to cut the deficit to 15 points at 38-23 but that was as close as they got.
The Mustangs countered with two straight 3-point field goals to stretch the lead back to 21 points at 44-23 and eventually grew the advantage to 47-23 with four minutes left to play.
"It's very difficult to keep playing when the ball is not falling in the basket," added the coach. "The really good teams know how to do it and we need to get to that point to where our defense makes our offense instead of the other way around. That is what it is right now."
Price led Battle Mountain with 12 points, including two 3-point field goals. Salazar added seven and Marco Rangel, Willingham and Itza two each.
The Longhorns return home this weekend for a pair of games, beginning with Yerington on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Battle Mountain then faces Rite of Passage on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
"We knew the last part of the season is going to be hard and that was the first 2A opponent we have played all year," Wallock said. "We have four more of these crossover games, then we play Elko, Lowry and Spring Creek right in a row to start our league play. We just need to work hard in practice and get better."
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