Battle Mountain High School and Eleanor Lemaire Junior High played host to the 2017 Longhorn Invitational tournaments this past weekend.
The Longhorn junior varsity boys and girls teams displayed quality basketball through the weekend.
This past Friday, the Longhorn Invitational tournaments held in Battle Mountain pitted the Longhorn JV teams against a variety of teams around the state.
The JV boys tournament was held in the BMHS gym and separated the seven teams into two pools one with four teams and the second with three.
Each team would play two games on Friday and upon receiving the results, be seeded into a single-elimination tournament.
The Longhorn boys started the tournament off with a significant victory against Eureka, defeating the Vandals by a score of 69-12. The Longhorns took control of the game early with a series of steals and fast break layups. Longhorn point guard D.J. Martinez led the team in scoring with 17 point in the game.
Longhorn shooting guard Santos Farias helped his team off the bench in the second half of the game by leading the team with nine points.
The win propelled the Longhorns to the No. 1 seed in Saturday's tournament.
The Longhorn boys repeated the dominating performance against Tonopah with a 69-13 victory, helping the team secure the top spot in the tournament.
Again, Martinez showed his prowess on the floor with precision shooting and led the team with 17 points. Jace Clark also scored into double digits, cashing in with 13 points against the Muckers.
The JV girls started their tournament out strong with an opening-game win against Pershing County by a score of 31-10 final. The Lady Longhorns held the Mustangs scoreless in the first half with an 8-0 lead before blowing the game open in the second half, scoring 23 points for the win.
The JV girls finished the Friday games with a victory over West Wendover at 45-13, establishing themselves as the number one seed in the Saturday tournament.
On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Battle Mountain JV boys returned to the court for a championship run.
The Longhorns started the day where they left off Friday, defeating White Pine 58-21. Martinez continued his hot streak shooting and led the team with 20 points in the game.
The Longhorns were feeling good about their chances to win the home tournament but ran into a determined West Wendover team. The Wolverines started the game quick jumping out to a 20-8 lead on the Longhorns. Battle Mountain fought back to get into the game and went into halftime down 26-21.
The Longhorns continued to fight back into the game but could not get the game closer than a four-point deficit. The Longhorns lost the game claiming third place in the tournament.
The JV girls hoped to have a better outcome Saturday, where the Longhorns matched up against Tonopah. The Lady Longhorns beat the Muckers by 23 points capitalizing on early shooting opportunities. The final score ended at 36-13.
The win placed Battle Mountain into the tournament championship game against White Pine, where the Lady Longhorns faced a tough test against the Lady Cats.
Battle Mountain held off a late comeback attempt by the Bobcats and defeated White Pine by 41-34 and claiming the top spot in the tournament.
Discalimer: Travis Masterson is the Battle Mountain JV boys basketball coach.
