Pershing County High School played host to 16 junior varsity (JV) basketball teams last weekend, with eight boys and girl teams playing for tournament bragging rights. The Longhorn JV boys finished as tournament runner-up with the JV girls finishing in fourth place.
On Friday, Dec. 1, the Longhorn JV girls started the first day of the tournament with a tight battle with rival Pershing County. The girls played a back and forth game where defense and hustle would be critical in the outcome.
The Longhorn and Mustang ladies finished the second half tied and went to overtime to find out who would advance. The Lady Longhorns came out victorious in overtime, beating Pershing County 25-21. The Longhorns girls advanced to play the Yerington Lions in the winners bracket.
The same day, the Longhorn boys JV team played against the Yerington Lions for their first game of the season. The Lions came out strong, shooting well and scoring 23 points in the half. The Longhorn boys trailed 23-16 at halftime.
After a big second half, the Longhorns grabbed a two-point lead with seven seconds left in the game. Yerington missed the game-winning shot and the Longhorns advanced to play the Dayton Dust Devils the next day.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, The Longhorns JV teams returned to Lovelock with the hope of winning the tournaments. The lady Longhorn JV took the court first, facing a Yerington Lions team coming off a big win against the Dayton Dust Devils.
Yerington started the game strong and never relinquished the lead to the Lady Longhorns. Yerington defeated the Lady Longhorns with a final score of 36-15. The loss put the Lady Longhorns in the third-place game against the Silver Stage Nighthawks.
The Longhorn JV boys took the court against Dayton shortly after the Longhorn girls team finished. The Longhorn boys faced a challenging opponent, and the tightly-contested game went to half at a 12-12 tie.
During the second half, the back and forth defensive battle kept the score split with the game going into overtime, tied 24-24. In overtime, point guard DJ Martinez and Isaiah Diaz were able to get a couple of steals and helped bring home the Longhorn victory 29-26. The win put the Longhorn boys JV into the championship game of the tournament against the Lowry High School Buckaroos.
The Lady Longhorns would claim fourth place in the tournament after falling short against the Silver Stage Nighthawks 29-20. The girls played hard all weekend and put themselves in an excellent position to win in each game.
The championship game between the Longhorns and the Buckaroos started out as a one-sided match with Lowry building an early lead.
The Longhorns were forced to adjust their playing style when two post players fell out with injuries and a third player, Jace Clark, fouled out before the half. This left the Longhorns with only one post player left on the roster. Lowry held the lead at the end of the first half 25-8.
In the second half, the Longhorns came out fast, causing Lowry to turn over the ball several times with guards DJ Martinez, Alan Martinez and Aldo Castellanos scoring layups off Lowry mistakes. The Longhorn boys were able to get the score back down to eight points before Lowry made some critical three-point shots to seal the game with a final score of 50-36. The Longhorn boys finished the weekend as the second place team of the tournament.
*Disclaimer: Travis Masterson is the Longhorn JV basketball coach.
