SPRING CREEK - After picking up a win over Mineral County on the first day of the Division IV Regional Championship in Spring Creek, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team had the tough task of playing the defending state champion in the semifinals on Friday.
Whittell, who claimed the state title in its first year in Division IV a season ago, came into the match-up at 24-2, with thew only losses to Incline and Virginia City. The Warriors grabbed an early lead over the Bulldogs and held on for a 54-41 victory.
"They are a solid team," said MHS coach Jack Smith. "We had a chance at the start to get a lead and missed a few shots. "Whittell put a box-and-1 on Sonny (Crutcher) to try to contain him. They had a game plan and it was not to let Sonny beat them. I thought we played well, but we just couldn't break that six-to-eight point deficit."
Whittell held an eight-point lead at halftime, when McDermitt's Edgar Reyes hit a 3-point field goal, seconds in to the third quarter, trimming the margin to five points.
"I thought right there we had a chance," Smith said. "Our tendency this year had been to start slow and come on late. When we started with that 3-point shot, I thought we had another big third quarter run in us. But, every time we made a basket, Whittell seemed to have an answer."
McDermitt had trouble containing Whittell's Parker Chaplin, who had 21 points in the contest, after scoring 18 the night before against Owyhee.
"He is a legitimate player," added the coach. "Anytime they were in trouble, they went to him."
The Warriors increased the lead back to near double figures in the third quarter and maintained the advantage throughout the final eight minutes.
"it was a good game and I have a lot of respect for Whittell," Smith said. "In the final couple minutes when Sonny fouled out, their coach came over and gave him a hug."
In Thursday's quarterfinal against Mineral County, both squads showed nerves at the beginning, but the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for a 55-42 win.
Both offenses had troubles getting going in the first quarter, with a combined 11 points. It took McDermitt nearly four minutes to get on the scoreboard, when Alex Rincon knocked down a basket. Mineral County scored six of the first nine points, when Ellison Tom converted a bucket with 13.4 seconds left in the quarter to trim the gap to a point.
"We were a little nervous," Smith said. "You are going to have that when you get into a playoff game. We started to settle down after that first quarter."
The Serpents maintained a three-point lead early in the second quarter, when Crutcher was whistled for his second foul with 6:22 left in the first half. After sitting on the bench for a couple of minutes, TJ Smith provided the Bulldogs with a lift, hitting back-to-back shots to put McDermitt up 12-9.
Crutcher came back off the bench late in the first half and provided a quick spark with two baskets. Smith also knocked down a shot, giving McDermitt an 18-14 advantage at halftime.
McDermitt created the first big run of the game, coming out of the halftime break on a 10-2 run to lead 28-16. Crutcher scored on the first possession of the third quarter and Saul Lopez added six points during the run. Mineral County countered with five consecutive points, but McDermitt maintained an eight-point lead to the start of the fourth quarter.
McDermitt jumped back to a double-digit lead, after Rincon led off the fourth quarter with a basket, but Mineral County cut the deficit in half, 90 seconds in to the final period. That was as close as Mineral County got, as McDermitt spent most of the final three minutes on the free throw line, as the Serpents attempted to prolong the contest as long as possible. Lopez, Reyes and Tom accounted for the final points at the charity stripe.
McDermitt finished the year at 15-10, which included a second-place finish in the Division IV East. The Bulldogs graduate six seniors.
"We have nothing to be ashamed of about this year," Smith said. "We did a lot of good things this year and I really enjoyed the kids. "I feel bad, especially for the seniors that we couldn't get to the state tournament. We had a great talk after the Whittell game. It's been a great ride. There were a lot of tears in the locker room after that game."
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