LOVELOCK - One of the more spirited rivalries in the Division III North returned to the floor Friday as the Pershing County High School boys basketball team hosted Battle Mountain.
The Longhorns grabbed a four-point lead after a quarter of play, only to see the Mustangs rally with a 20-7 run before halftime to win 54-46. Pershing County remained in third place in the league and is 10-5 overall and 4-3 in the Division III North.
The match-up appeared to start out as a 3-point contest with the first three baskets from long distance. Two of those were from the Longhorns' Dominic Valles. Ivan Gamino tied the game at 3-3 for the Mustangs and Adrian Valtierra knocked down a long-distance shot with 37 seconds left in the quarter. Those were the only two field goals in the period for Pershing County.
Worth Nelson added a bucket two minutes into the game and two free throws moments later to give Battle Mountain a 10-3 lead. The 3-pointer by Valtierra at the end of the quarter began a 26-7 run that stretched into the start of the third quarter for Pershing County.
"I thought we played very good defense," said PCHS coach Lance Condie. "I also thought Battle Mountain handled our pressure much better in the second half. The second quarter was a great quarter for us. We feel very fortunate to beat a very good team in Battle Mountain."
The Mustangs' Dylan Garretson connected on two free throws midway through the second quarter to give Pershing County a 14-13 lead, one it wouldn't relinquish. Battle Mountain converted just one field goal in the second quarter and that came from Blake Dorian. The sophomore finished with a team-high 19 points. Leading 18-15, Gamino began a 9-3 run for Pershing County with a 3-pointer to close out the first half.
Gamino connected on another 3-point shot to start the second half and help push Pershing County's lead to 34-22 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Battle Mountain followed with a 7-0 run with a 3-point shot by Dorian. Regan Knight added two buckets to close the gap to 34-29, but the Mustangs countered with the next four points off buckets by Marquis McKinney and Jared Brinkerhoff. Dorian notched the first five points of the fourth quarter to make the score 42-37. The Mustangs kept the margin around seven points when Dorian hit a 3-pointer to bring the Longhorns within 46-42 with 2:17 to play. Battle Mountain got no closer as Pershing County closed the game out with an 8-2 run, with half of those points by Jesus Cruz.
"We played a horrible second quarter, with multiple turnovers, causing us to fall behind," said BMHS coach Roger Wallock. "I was actually very happy with how we adjusted at halftime against their pressure and actually played a competitive half of basketball. It was an awesome high school basketball atmosphere and once again a heated and competitive boys' basketball game. We just need to learn how to handle the intensity of a high pressure league contest."
Cruz posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Garretson and Gamino each had nine points. Garretson added a team-high six assists and four steals. McKinney scored eight points, Brinkerhoff six, Colten Davis and Valtierra three each and Drew Jaramillo and Chris Franco two apiece.
Pershing County travels to North Tahoe on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip off and play at home Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Incline.[[In-content Ad]]
