MCDERMITT — There comes a point in a season where it seems everything is going right for a team.
After the conclusion of Saturday’s home game against Jackpot, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team may be able to check off that scenario.
The Bulldogs remained undefeated in the Eastern 1A at 7-0, after a thrilling 59-56 win over the Jaguars that saw a last-second shot roll out of the basket.
“We got away with one today,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. Even on that last shot. I thought for sure we were going to go into overtime. That is a team we do not match-up well for some reason. Jackpot is a good team.”
The first few minutes were played at a frantic pace, as both teams got up and down the floor quickly. Jackpot grabbed the early advantage, scoring eight of the first 10 points and forcing McDermitt to call a timeout with 5:42 left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs climbed within three points at 12-9 midway through the quarter, and then turned the tables on the Jaguars with a 9-0 run. Diego Navarro started the spurt with a jump shot and Edgar Reyes capped the run off with five straight points, including a 3-pointer. After trailing by six points, McDermitt concluded the first quarter with a 22-18 lead.
That was short-lived, as the back-and forth first half saw another swing in momentum. The Jaguars scored the first seven points of the second quarter and held onto the advantage for the remainder of the first half. A runner by Reyes ended the 7-0 spurt for Jackpot, but the Jaguars still led 32-29 at the break.
A basket by Duane Horse gave McDermitt the lead back in the early stages of the third quarter, and the gap grew to 39-34 after jump shots by Reyes and Cauy Crutcher. Crutcher had 10 points in the third quarter, but the two most important ones came off a scramble near the basket where the Bulldogs had missed three prior shots, prior to the putback by the junior on the fourth try.
The Bulldogs looked to have control of the contest early in the fourth quarter after a two long buckets by Troy McKee, which kept the advantage at eight points.
Jackpot slowly climbed back into the game and was within three points at 54-51 with 1:45 to go after scoring on a layup on a McDermitt turnover.
Thirty seconds later, the Jaguars had cut the deficit to a point at 54-53. With Navarro at the free throw line and just a minute to go, the junior missed the front end of a 1-and-1. However, after a scramble on the floor, Navarro collected his own miss and converted a 3-point play, after putting the ball back in the basket and getting fouled to make the score 57-53 with 1:10 to go.
“That was huge for us,” Smith said. “The ball was all over the place and went to his hands. We have gotten a few breaks this year, but we will take. If he doesn’t get that rebound, I am not sure how the game ends.”
Jackpot trimmed the margin to 57-54 with 1:05 to go after making 1-of-2 free throws. The Jaguars caught a break after Reyes missed a free throw. Jackpot took the rebound down the length of the floor and made a layup and was fouled in the process. However, the Jaguars missed the tying free throw.
Forced to foul, Reyes made 1-of-2 foul shots to give McDermitt a 58-56 lead with 19 seconds left.
Jackpot raced down the floor, only to see a layup roll in and out of the basket, as McDermitt got the rebound. The Bulldogs had chance to seal the win, but Crutcher made just 1-of-2 foul shots to keep the score at 59-56. After a timeout, Jackpot set itself up for one last shot that banked of the glass and in and out of the basket to give the Bulldogs the win.
Crutcher had a team-high 17 points, while McKee had 14 and Reyes 13. Horse had eight points and Navarro five.
“A win is a win and we will take it any way we can,” Smith said.
McDermitt holds off Wells
McDermitt began the weekend with a 64-55 win over Wells on Friday night.
“We came out on fire and thought we were going to put them away,” added the coach. “We relaxed a little bit on defense and on the press and let them back in. Wells has some big kids and it is always physical.”
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-2 lead and were up 19-11 after eight minutes of action. The margin remained at eight points at halftime, as bot squads scored 13 points in the second quarter.
Wells trimmed the margin to 41-38 by the end of the third quarter, but McDermitt bounced back with 23 points in the final eight minutes of action to prevent the upset.
McKee led all scorers with 22 points, while Crutcher added 18. Reyes netted eight points, Navarro seven, Dominique Finley six and Horse two.
McDermitt hosted Eureka on Tuesday and results were not available at press time. The Bulldogs are back on the road Friday to face Carlin and Saturday in Owyhee.
