The McDermitt High School boys basketball team faces a number of scenarios as it closes out the regular season tonight at home against Eureka.
The Vandals currently lead the Division IV East at 8-1, while the Bulldogs are second at 7-2. If McDermitt wins, it will clinch the league title and be the No. 1 seed from the Division IV East in the regional tournament next week in Spring Creek.
If the Bulldogs lose, they can be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on what Owyhee does in its final two games against Jackpot and Wells. If the Braves win both games and the Bulldogs lose, Owyhee will be the No. 2 seed. If Owyhee splits the last two games and McDermitt still loses, the Bulldogs will be the No. 2 seed.
McDermitt made its final regular season road trip last weekend to Carlin and Owyhee. The Bulldogs beat the Railroaders 63-24 on Friday, Feb. 6, but lost 60-54 to Owyhee on Saturday.
McDermitt found little resistance against Carlin, who is winless on the season. The Bulldogs raced out to a 16-3 lead in the first quarter and led 38-5 at halftime. The Railroaders made just two field goals in the first 16 minutes of action.
"They are down this year and we got on them pretty quick," said MHS coach Jack Smith. "It wasn't the type of I game I wanted before going and playing Owyhee."
TJ Smith and Ellison Tom led McDermitt with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Saul Lopez added nine, Sonny Crutcher and Cauy Crutcher eight each and Alex Rincon six.
The gym in Owyhee was packed on Saturday for two of the biggest rivals in Nevada. Earlier in the year, the Bulldogs used a strong second half to beat Braves. This time, Owyhee turned the tables with a late run in the fourth quarter to split the series for the year.
"It was a crazy atmosphere and the gym was packed," Smith said. "We had trouble making shots at the start. Owyhee sat in a zone and dared us shoot the ball from the outside and we couldn't make a basket."
After getting off to a slow start, McDermitt bounced back in the second quarter and outscored Owyhee 22-16 to go in front 32-29.
"We started to get in a flow, but we also got in foul trouble," Smith said. "We had guys coming in and out because of it."
The Bulldogs maintained a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter and held the advantage for much of the final eight minutes. However, the Braves made a run near the end of the contest. Tom and Smith fouled out for McDermitt Edgar Reyes and Rincon were each playing with four fouls.
"It wasn't the best last three minutes of the game for us," Smith said. "We had three starters on the bench and everything that could go wrong for us did."
Crutcher led McDermitt with 19 points, while Smith joined in him in double figures with 13. Reyes had seven points, Tom six, Lopez five and Rincon four.
McDermitt hosts Eureka at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
"It's a huge game for us," Smith said. "We can go from anywhere to first or third in the league. We need to be ready to play. Eureka is a big and physical team and I know they are going to want to win."
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