MCDERMITT - Despite two league losses at home this past weekend, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team still has an opportunity to play its way into the regional playoffs.
The Bulldogs played host to Wells on Friday night and lost 51-24 and were defeated 71-40 by Jackpot on Saturday afternoon to fall to 3-13 overall and 1-6 in the Division IV East.
Owyhee, Wells and Jackpot have the first three spots in the league wrapped up and Eureka currently sits in fourth at 3-4. The top four teams in the league advance to the regional tournament in Reno.
The Vandals still have games left with Wells, Jackpot and they close out the season at McDermitt. If Eureka loses all three games, it would finish at 3-7. If the Bulldogs knock off Carlin this Friday and beat Eureka, they would also finish at 3-7, setting up a potential play-in game.
In the matchup with Jackpot, junior Tyler Coble scored six points and Hawk Urban added a bucket to keep McDermitt within a point at 9-8. However, moments after Urban's basket, Coble went to the bench with two fouls with 3:39 left in the opening quarter.
The Jaguars took advantage of the Bulldogs' big man on the bench, going on a 10-0 run that included two baskets from 25 feet out. Urban ended the run with his second bucket of the period, but Jackpot still led 22-12 after a quarter.
Jackpot notched the first nine points of the second quarter as Coble picked up two more fouls and missed the final three minutes of the first half with his four fouls. The Jaguars went on to outscore the Bulldogs 20-4 to lead 42-16 at halftime.
Jackpot picked up from where it left off in the first half and scored the first nine points of the third quarter to up the score to 53-16 and capping off a 29-4 spurt.
The Jaguar advantage grew to 56-18 - two points away from a running clock, when the Bulldogs' Brendan Wilson hit a 3-point field goal for McDermitt and the Bulldogs closed out the quarter on a 9-4 run.
Jackpot led by as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter, when Saul Lopez led an 11-0 run for McDermitt in the final minutes of the contest.
Lopez paced the Bulldogs with 11 points, while Coble added 10. Leo Lorenzo scored six, Wilson five and Aaron Brown and Urban four each.
On Friday night, McDermitt was within three points of Wells after eight minutes of play, but the Leopards, who sit in second place in the league, outscored the Bulldogs 28-8 in the second and third quarters.
The Bulldogs managed just 14 points in the final three quarters, after scoring 10 in the first period.
Coble netted seven points for McDermitt, Wilson added four and Urban three. Luis Ruelas, Lopez, Alec Dave, Alex Rincon and Brown each had two points.
McDermitt went on the road to face Eureka on Friday, Jan. 18, and Smith Valley on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Bulldogs lost 65-40 to the Vandals in Division IV East play, while falling to Smith Valley 51-37 in a non-conference matchup.
In the loss to Eureka, it was the second and third quarters that proved to be the difference once again. The Vandals led 13-9 after eight minutes of play, but outscored the Bulldogs 38-16 in the middle two periods to lead 52-25.
Urban collected 10 points to lead McDermitt, while Coble added eight, Lopez seven and Rincon five.
On Saturday, Jan. 19, Smith Valley raced out to a 15-1 lead in the first quarter but needed a comeback in the final eight minutes to shake off McDermitt.
McDermitt closed the gap to 10 points at halftime and used a 17-7 run in the third period to tie the game at 31. However, Smith Valley closed out the game on a 20-6 run in the fourth period.
Coble scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs, Wilson netted six and Ruelas five. Rincon and Brown had three points apiece and Lopez and Urban two each.
McDermitt travels to Crane, Ore., tonight for a 6:30 p.m. start. The game is being made up after being postponed last week. The Bulldogs travel to Carlin on Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the Railroaders. The road trip concludes on Saturday as McDermitt makes the trip to league-leading Owyhee, for a 3:30 p.m. start.
[[In-content Ad]]
