MCDERMITT - It seems like every game brings a different challenge for the McDermitt High School boys basketball team.
The Bulldogs found themselves down two starters on Saturday at home against Owyhee, including one with the flu. Despite the missing players, McDermitt found a way to get past the Braves 60-44 to improve to 4-0 in the Division IV East. The Bulldogs have now won 11 games in a row, after losing five straight to begin the season.
"It was a huge win for us without those two guys," said MHS coach Jack Smith. "I found out Saul (Lopez) wasn't going to play when I got to the gym in the afternoon. He is a big part of the team on both sides of the ball. I had to make some changes when I found that out."
Owyhee scored six of the first seven points of the contest and held McDermitt without a field goal for the first three minutes. The Braves opened up a six-point lead 12-6 off a banked 3-pointer off the glass, but the Bulldogs bounced back as Sonny Crutcher and TJ Smith scored eight points in the closing minutes to cut the deficit to 18-14.
"I thought it was going to be one of those nights," Smith said. "Owyhee started off hot and banked a couple of baskets and I thought we were in trouble. We couldn't use the run and jump press like I wanted to."
Owyhee used its quickness to stay in front during the second quarter and picked up a few baskets on easy layups against the McDermitt defense. The Bulldogs also were in foul trouble as Alex Rincon had four fouls with 40 seconds left in the first half.
"They were a quick team and we were doing a lot of reaching on defense," said the coach. "They cherry-picked a few baskets in the first half and that was one of the adjustments we made at halftime."
McDermitt used a big third quarter to go in front and take charge of the game. After watching the Braves bank in another 3-point field goal to go up 37-35, the Bulldogs ended the third quarter on a 10-0 run that included baskets from Ellison Tom, Rincon and six points from Crutcher.
Owyhee closed the gap to 46-40 with 4:14 left to play, but it was all McDermitt after that. The Bulldogs netted the next 12 points to break the game open and create an 18-point lead at 58-40.
"You could see them get down and frustrated in the second half," Smith said. "They started missing some shots and we took care of the ball a little better. My kids showed some heart. I like they way we are playing. I just didn't want to play the chaotic way that Owyhee did."
Crutcher led all scorers with 26 points, while Smith and Tom joined him in double figures with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Rincon added five and Alec Dave two.
McDermitt had a much easier time on Friday against Carlin, winning 57-12. The Bulldogs used a 22-3 run in the second quarter to lead 37-9 at half and never looked back.
McDermitt outscored Carlin 15-0 in the third quarter to lead 52-9 and the rest of the game was played with a running clock under the NIAA 40-point rule.
Smith (16), Lopez (15) and Crutcher (13) combined for 44 of the points, while Cauy Crutcher added nine and Tom four.
McDermitt leads the Division IV East at 4-0, while Eureka is 3-1 and Owyhee 2-1. The top four teams advance to the regional tournament in Elko in February.
McDermitt travels to Crane, Ore., on Wednesday for a non-conference game at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are back on the road Friday to play Eureka at 7 p.m.
"Everything is clicking right now," Smith said. "The kids really want to learn and are buying in. The people up here have been great to me and the kids and it's fun right now."
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