The Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team closed out the regular season by knocking off Pershing County to shake up the final standings in the Division III North.
The upset win by the Longhorns forced a rematch in the opening round of the regional playoffs last Friday in West Wendover. Battle Mountain looked poised to be victorious gain for a short time and earn a trip to the state tournament.
The Longhorns led by four points after eight minutes of play, but the Mustangs went on a run in the final three quarters to grab a 61-45 win and end Battle Mountain’s season.
“We started off great, passing and hitting open guys and they in turn finished with baskets,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock. “However, that did not continue as the game progressed. Lovelock always plays great defense, and they had a guy locked onto Blake (Dorian) the entire game. We also didn’t rebound as well as we did against them last week. We held them to only two offensive rebounds in the win the week before but gave them 11 second chances and that doesn’t beat a team as good as Lovelock.”
Trailing 16-12 after eight minutes of action, Pershing County came back to outscore Battle Mountain 13-7 in the second quarter to lead 25-23 at halftime.
The contest remained close throughout the second half, with the Mustangs pulling out to a six-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns were still within six points with two minutes to play, when the Mustangs’ William Gattrell knocked down a 3-point field goal to extend the margin to nine points. The junior was solid from the free throw line as well, making 17-of-18 shots to finish with a game-high 29 points.
“We were still within six points with two minutes to go but Gattrell hit a big 3-pointer and then went on to hit all but one of his final free throws as we were trying to foul to stop the clock and get the ball back,” Wallock said.
Regan Knight shined in his final basketball game for Battle Mountain, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Jaren Price had four points, four assists, four rebounds and a steal
“Regan played another great game,” said the coach. “He really came on strong for us the last few weeks. Jaren was a great captain for us this year and played through a shoulder injury showing his toughness.”
Blake Dorian reached double figures with 10 points to go with three steals, two assists and a rebound
“Blake had an outstanding season, going over 1,000 points in his career back against Yerington earlier in the year,” Wallock said.
Miles Piramide added 10 points and three rebounds and Chris Figueroa had seven points and five rebounds.
“I am really proud of the way this team fought all year and continued to get better each game,” Wallock said. “We were playing our best basketball at the end of the year and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
