MCDERMITT - The first month of the season may have been just fun and games, but the intensity level was turned up a few notches this weekend for the McDermitt High School varsity boys basketball team.
The Bulldogs were home for a pair of Division IV East games against Wells and Jackpot. McDermitt got by Wells 58-46 in a physical game on Friday night, but could not keep the momentum going Saturday afternoon with a 61-55 loss to Jackpot.
"The kids put a lot of energy into the Wells game," said MHS head coach Austin Mayo. "There was some bad blood between them from the football season. The guys wanted to win that game bad and we knew it was going to be physical game. After putting so much into the Wells game, we looked off against Jackpot. We got down early, made a good comeback but just fell short."
In Saturday's game, Jackpot and McDermitt traded the lead three times in the first four minutes, with Saul Lopez scoring five of the first seven points for the Bulldogs.
The Jaguars finished the first quarter on a 9-4 run as Jackpot went to its 6-4 senior Darren Hester. Hester scored 31 points on the night, despite playing with four fouls for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Jackpot took advantage of a handful of McDermitt turnovers early in the second quarter to build a 29-16 lead. The Bulldogs temporarily stopped the Jaguars' momentum with a 3-point field goal by Leo Lorenzo, but lost that when they were called for a technical foul about a minute later.
Following a McDermitt timeout, with 2:55 left in the first half, the Bulldogs came out on the floor with six players, giving Jackpot two free throws. The Jaguars made both shots to increase the margin to 33-19.
"There was a lot of frustration from everyone at the time," Mayo said. "But we can't make that mistake."
McDermitt (5-4 overall, 1-1 Division IV East) shook off the miscue to score nine of the last 11 points of the first half. Tanner Coble started the run with a bucket and Lopez connected on two 3-point field goals, including one at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 35-28.
Jackpot maintained a five to eight-point lead for much of the third quarter, when Hester left the floor with his fourth foul with 1:50 left in the period. The Jaguars led by seven points at the time, but Brendan Wilson began a 6-0 run with a layup and Alex Rincon and Lorenzo added buckets to trim the deficit to 44-43 going into the fourth quarter.
As a sign that everything was going right for Jackpot, the Jaguars banked in a 3-point shot on their first possession of the fourth quarter and maintained the lead the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs' TJ Smith followed with a basket to cut the margin to two points, but the Jaguars answered with eight straight points, including a 3-point shot off a McDermitt turnover to stay in front 55-45 with 4:09 left in the game.
Coble did his best to keep the Bulldogs in the game with five straight points, trimming the Jaguars' lead to 55-50, with 2:47 to play. However, McDermitt was called for a technical foul the next time down the floor and Hester made both free throws for Jackpot.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line in the final two minutes, and the Bulldogs could get no closer than five points in the final 90 seconds.
"I was proud of how we rallied in the second half," said the coach. "We weren't at our best, but the guys continued to play hard. When we got it down to one point, I thought we were going to win. We didn't want Darren to beat us in the second half and dared some of their other players to shoot. They ended up hitting a few shots. I didn't say much after the game and the kids were hard on themselves. We let one get away."
Lopez led McDermitt with 21 points, Smith added eight and Tyler Coble and Tanner Coble each had seven points. Lorenzo contributed five, Wilson had three and Rincon and Tom scored two each.
There was no love lost Friday as McDermitt opened league play with a 12-point win over Wells.
"Our guys were ready to play this one," Mayo said. "We knew coming in that Wells was one of the best teams in the league. The guys came out and played their butt off. It got rough out there but both teams were expecting that."
McDermitt used a 15-9 run in the first quarter to gain a six-point lead and made it last throughout the night. The Leopards cut the deficit to four by halftime but the Bulldogs maintained the advantage in the final 16 minutes.
Tanner Coble led McDermitt with 17 points to go with seven rebounds.
"Tanner played a hell of a game," said the coach. "I have to remind myself at times that he is just a sophomore."
Lopez joined him in double figures with 16 points and Smith had nine. Tyler Coble scored six, but grabbed a team-high 17 points and Wilson also had six points. Tom and Rincon each had two points.
McDermitt is on the road this weekend, when it travels to Carlin on Friday for a 7 p.m. tip. The Bulldogs move on to Owyhee on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tip.
"It would have been nice to start 2-0 in league, but we need to get back to work and get ready to go on the road," Mayo said. "We can't take anything for granted at Carlin and we have get ready for a big game at Owyhee. We don't get any breaks the rest of the way. It is a business trip for us."[[In-content Ad]]
