It might be good that Christmas break has hit for the Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team. The Longhorns finished up a span of 13 games in 17 days last weekend in Lake Tahoe, coming away with 10 wins.
Battle Mountain began Division III North play on Friday night in Tahoe City, Calif., and escaped with a 62-55 win in double overtime. The Longhorns made their way to Incline on Saturday and were defeated 52-43.
“Finishing a grueling three-week span of 13 games in 17 days with two tough ones up at Lake Tahoe was an exhausting stretch,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock. However, except for a poor offensive second half against Incline, we played pretty well and came out of it with an understanding of our team and what we need to work on.”
BMHS sneaks past Lakers
After playing to a 12-12 tie in the first quarter, Battle Mountain looked to be in control after using a 15-7 run in the second quarter to go in front 27-19 at halftime.
The Lakers cut the margin to six points at the start of the fourth-quarter, and used a 9-3 run in the final eight minutes to send the contest into overtime. The Lakers hit a buzzer-beating shot to extend the game.
Battle Mountain had its chances to put the game away in the first extra periods, but allowed North Tahoe to hang around again. The Lakers hit another shot at the buzzer to force a second overtime.
The Longhorns were finally able to put the game out of reach with a 10-3 run in the second overtime.
Battle Mountain had four players in double figures, with Blake Dorian leading the way with 18 points. The senior also contributed six steals.
Chris Figueroa notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists. Regan Knight added 10 points and Miles Piramide had 10 points and four assists. Jaren price had seven points and five assists.
“We had numerous free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime to put the Lakers away but missed enough to allow them a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to tie the game in each of those frames,” Wallock said. “Chris played well in overtime offensively and we got the tough road league win.”
Longhorns come up short at Incline
Battle Mountain was quickly back on the floor Saturday afternoon in Incline and fell short 52-43 to the Highlanders.
Incline built a four point lead after the first quarter and kept that same margin going into halftime up 27-23. The Highlanders used a 15-10 run in the third quarter and that proved to be the difference in the contest.
Dorian had 11 points and four steals, and Piramide also scored 11 points to go with three assists. Knight added seven points and four steals and Figueroa had two points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“I think our legs felt the exhaustion in the second half of the Incline game,” Wallock said. “We missed 15 wide open and point-blank shots to allow Incline to get the victory. Our defense and rebounding was solid throughout the game but we just couldn’t score enough points to pull out the win.”
BMHS cruises past Wells
Battle Mountain began the week with a 67-41 win over Wells on the road on Tuesday, Dec. 15. After leading by three points after the first quarter, the Longhorns went on a 19-4 run in the second quarter and did not look back. Battle Mountain closed the game on a 17-10 spurt to complete the sweep of Wells.
Dorian led the Longhorns with 15 points and five steals, while DJ Potter had 13 points. Figueroa scored six points, had seven rebounds and two blocks and Piramide had seven points and six assists.
Battle Mountain is off until Saturday, Jan. 2, when it hosts West Wendover at 3:30 p.m.
“Now, a week off to rest and enjoy the holidays before we get back to practice on the 28th to get ready for another tough league opponent in West Wendover,” Wallock said.
