The Pershing County High School boys basketball team traveled to Hawthorne this past weekend for the Serpent Classic.
The Pershing County Mustangs showed their preseason fangs at the Serpent Classic. They walloped Pyramid Lake (67-29), Virginia City (75-28), Mineral County (57-38) and White Pine (63-30).
The Spring Mountain Eagles came close to upsetting Pershing’s winning streak. But at buzzer, the Las Vegas school trailed Lovelock by one point (31-30).
Second-year varsity coach Jason Allen looks forward to the new season.
“The Hawthorne tourney is great for a couple of things,” he said. “The kids get to spend the weekend together away from everything. And it’s a way to knock off some rust and get back in the flow of things.”
The Mustangs ended the 2016-17 at 27-3 overall, and 14-0 in league play. They fell to Agassi Prep (Democracy Prep) at the state championship (71-39).
Eight seniors led the team. Ethan Rhodes, Jake Cerini, Will Gattrell, Ricky Camarena, Nate Wanner, Tad Milich, Anthony Castro and Ethan Zelaya graduated last spring.
But Kyle Barter, Martin Cholico, Lane Condie (C), Owen Bake (C) and Brandon Zile step up as returning seniors this season.
Barter and Cholico played JV last year. So did Chuy Acosta, a junior and Cody Zile, a freshman. Condie, Bake and Brandon Zile are returners.
Condie made first-team All-State last season. Coaches named him the Defensive Player of the Year.
Derek Sandusky returns as a junior. He made second team All-State as a sophomore.
“I was pleased with the kids’ effort and how they shared the ball,” said Allen. “This is an unselfish group, and they’re a lot of fun to watch.”
The Mustangs travel to Zephyr Cove this weekend for the Whittell Tournament.
Lovelock starts its regular season at home on Tuesday, December 12. Pershing County hosts Incline in the Northern 2A opener.
The JV girls tip off at 3 p.m. The JV boys follow at 4:30 p.m., varsity girls play at 6 p.m. and the varsity boys start at 7:30 p.m.
