On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the Battle Mountain High School boys basketball teams played a non-league game against the Wells Leopards. The high-powered Longhorn offense helped establish an early lead against the Leopards and went on to win 71-35.
Battle Mountain, led by team captains Gabe Naveran and Chris Figueroa, used the Wells game as a stepping stone before going into league play last weekend. The Longhorns recently played Wells on Dec. 12 during the Comstock Classic in Virginia City and defeated the Leopards at 63-24.
Wells, playing on full rest, came out strong against the Longhorns but could not maintain the success against Battle Mountain.
Figueroa led the Longhorns in scoring with 17 points and continued his all-around play by adding five steals, three assists and two rebounds. Marcus Jury capitalized on his opportunities to score finishing with 12 points, second in scoring to Figueroa.
Despite some early struggles, the Longhorns left the first quarter with a 19-8 lead over the Leopards. The 11-point lead quickly extended, after a huge second quarter where Battle Mountain added 23 points before the halftime buzzer. At halftime, the Longhorns lead wells 42-16.
During the second half head coach Roger Wallock rotated different lineup combinations while giving some backup players more time on the court. The Leopards took advantage of the Longhorns' lack of rebounding in the second half but were not able to close the gap between the two teams.
Other notable statistics in the game included Miles Piramide shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line, making 3-of-5 shots.
Sophomore forward Bradley Rodgers led the team in rebounds, grabbing 11 boards and Danny Diaz led the Longhorns in steals, snagging three from Leopard dribblers.
Earlier in the day, the Battle Mountain JV boys defeated Wells 65-16. Battle Mountain took advantage of several Wells turnovers in the game and established an early first-quarter lead ending at 21-5.
The second quarter brought more of the same for the JV team who went into the half with a 31-point lead at 41-10.
D.J. Martinez led the Longhorns JV in scoring with 11 points off 4-of-9 shooting.
Santos Farias came off the bench to contribute nine points to the total score. Despite being the shortest player on the team, Alan Martinez led the Longhorns in rebounds with five.
