In a little over two weeks from now, hopefully the Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team will not look back on Saturday and say “what if.”
The Longhorns held a five-point lead over Incline with 41 seconds to play, only to see that advantage disappear and the Highlanders pull off an improbable 58-51 victory in overtime.
“It is a very disappointing loss,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock. “A game in which we had a five-point lead with a little over a minute left, and not to be able to finish the game is frustrating.”
Battle Mountain went into the fourth quarter with a five point lead, 34-29, when Jaren price converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Blake Dorian stole the ball and made a layup to push the advantage to 39-31 with 3:36 to play. The Highlanders managed just four points for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter.
Incline closed within three points at 41-38, but Dorian answered with a pair of free throws to add to the margin at 43-38 with 2:03 to play. Battle Mountain made 1-of-3 free throws the next two trips down the floor, while Incline knocked down two of their own to make the score 43-40 with 1:09 to play.
Chris Figueroa added one free throw, and moments later, Incline’s coach was whistled for a technical foul, but Dorian missed both free throw attempts, keeping the Longhorns ahead at 44-40. The Longhorns got the ball back, and Incline fouled immediately, with Miles Piramide making 1-of-2 shots to push the lead to 45-40 with 0:41 to play.
Incline came down the floor and hit a 3-point shot with 19 seconds to go, and after a timeout, the Highlander run and jump press forced a turnover, which led to a layup to tie the game at 45.
Incline dominated the extra period, scoring the first nine points. Battle Mountain did not score until 31 seconds to go after a 3-point shot by Dorian. The senior knocked down another 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go, but the Highlanders made 3-of-4 foul shots down the stretch to secure the win.
Battle Mountain dominated the first and third quarters, outscoring Incline 24-8, holding the Tahoe school to four points in each quarter. Trailing 11-4 after eight minutes of play, Incline outscored Battle Mountain 19-10 in the second quarter to lead 23-21 at halftime.
“A couple of free throws made here and a couple of bad turnovers there and we win the game, but we didn’t do any of those things,” Wallock said. “Incline’s defense down the stretch was aggressive, and it caused us to make mistakes that cost us the game.”
Dorian paced the Longhorns with 23 points and seven rebounds. Figueroa had seven rebounds and Piramide five assists.
BMHS gets past
North Tahoe
Battle Mountain opened the weekend on Friday night with a 63-51 win over North Tahoe. The victory gave the Longhorns the season sweep over the Lakers.
Regan Knight had one his best games of the year, scoring eight of his team-high 14 points in the first quarter. Piramide added two 3-point field goals as well in the opening eight minutes of play, but the Longhorns still trailed 18-14.
North Tahoe knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second quarter and finish off a 10-run to lead 21-14. That was short-lived, as Battle Mountain countered with a 14-0 run. Sadonte Johnson, Dorian and Alan Rangel played a major part in the spurt. The Longhorns still needed a 3-pointer from Dorian and a bucket form Knight to hold on to a 33-29 lead at halftime.
The lead remained at four points entering the fourth quarter, when Knight and Dorian took over to help Battle Mountain go on a 16-8 run to notch the victory.
Knight led all scorers with 14, while Piramide added 13 points and four assists. Dorian had 12 points, eight assists and four steals. Rangel had nine points and four assists, Figueroa five points and six rebounds and Price two points and four assists.
“This was a good game for us against a good shooting North Tahoe team,” Wallock said. “We really shared the ball tonight, assisting on 24-of-26 made baskets.”
Battle Mountain travels to West Wendover on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The Wolverines and Longhorns are tied for fourth place in the Division III North at 4-4. The top four teams advance to the regional tournament in West Wendover.
Yerington leads the league at 6-0, Pershing County is second at 5-2 and Incline (4-3) is third.
