WINNEMUCCA - After getting off to a slow start in its opening weekend of action, the Winnemucca Junior High School eighth-grade boys basketball team rebounded with four victories in six games last week.
The Warriors were on their home floor on Thursday, Nov. 8, splitting two games - a 34-30 loss to Fallon and a 32-25 win over Battle Mountain.
Winnemucca was back at home on Friday, Nov. 9, to face Carson and Pershing County. The Warriors lost 52-23 to the Solons, while beating the Colts 45-39.
Winnemucca hit the road this past Saturday to Fernley and left with two victories, winning 55-31 over Fernley and 38-34 over Fallon to improve to 4-4 on the season.
"We are starting to get on the right track and the kids are figuring it out," said WJHS head coach K.C. Kracaw. "They are playing together and it is just going to take time. They are buying into my system and the zone defense we are playing."
In the first matchup with Fallon in Winnemucca, the Greenwave scored the first six points of the game, a run that was stopped on a layup by Winnemucca's Joe Taylor. Jacob Hernandez had the other basket for the Warriors, who trailed 8-4 after six minutes of play.
Back-to back baskets by Travis Hardy and Taylor tied the game at 11-11 midway through the second period. Fallon countered with five consecutive points, when Hardy hit a bucket near the end of the half to bring the deficit to within three points at 16-13 at halftime.
On the strength of two baskets by Jed Teichert, Winnemucca closed the gap to 24-23 but the Warriors could get no closer. Fallon pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading 34-25 before settling for the four-point win.
Taylor led the Warriors with eight points, Teichert added six, Dustin Gray five, Brady Lange and Hardy four each and Hernandez contributed three.
Winnemucca earned its first win of the season against Battle Mountain, despite the Shorthorns' hot outside shooting. Battle Mountain made four 3-point field goals in the first half to keep the game tied at 13-13 at the halftime break.
The Warriors held the Shorthorns to just three points in the final quarter and were able to pull away. Hernandez and Taylor paced Winnemucca with eight and seven points, respectively. Bryan Ramos scored six, Hardy four, Gray three and Teichert one.
In the loss to Carson, the Solons outscored the Warriors 19-1 in the first quarter and Winnemucca could never recover. Carson led 25-5 at halftime, but Winnemucca kept the margin near the same in the second half.
Hernandez scored six points, Ramos and Darrin Nelson five each, Gray three and Canyon Ricketts and Garrett Gray finished with two apiece.
Winnemucca turned the tables on Pershing County, racing to a 15-1 advantage in the first quarter. Teichert and Hernandez each had four points in the period and Ramos converted an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The Warriors continued to expand thier advantage, leading 39-16 after three quarters. However, Winnemucca had to withstand a rally by Pershing County that brought the Colts to within four points in the fourth quarter. Pershing County eventually outscored Winnemucca 20-6 in the final six minutes of play.
Eight different players for the Warriors made the scorebook, with Teichert and Ramos each scoring nine. Hernandez added eight, Nelson, Lange, Garrett Gray and Donavyn Morris had four each and Taylor three.
Winnemucca dominated the action against Fernley, leading 30-9 at halftime. The advantage for the Warriors never dropped below 20 points the rest of the way.
Three different Winnemucca players reached double figures, with Taylor totaling 13; Hernandez picked up 12 and Teichert 11. Lange scored six points, Ramos five and Hardy, Ricketts and Dustin Gray had two points each.
Individual stats for the Fallon game were unavailable, but Winnemucca was able to avenge an earlier loss to the Greenwave with the four-point victory.
The Warriors travel to McDermitt today for the first round of Tri-County play at 10 a.m. Winnemucca returns home on Saturday to face Eagle Valley and Pershing County at noon at the junior high.
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