st half of the Eastern 1A schedule coming to a close this Friday, there is a surprise leader to many throughout northern Nevada.
The McDermitt High School boys basketball team improved to 4-0 in league play with a pair of wins at home this past weekend. The Bulldogs had little trouble with Carlin on Friday winning 57-39. McDermitt closed out the weekend on Saturday afternoon with a 76-52 victory over rival Owyhee to move to 10-6 overall. The Bulldogs have already surpassed their win total from a year ago.
“It’s probably a little unexpected,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “We have come a long way. A big turning point for us was December when we were in Crane. We beat Crane by 20 points to start the season and then lost to them in Crane. We got back to the motel room and had a heart to heart talk. The guys sat down and wrote their goals down. They all wanted to finish first or second in the league. From that point we have been a different team.”
McDermitt routs Owyhee
After trading baskets for the early part of the first quarter, McDermitt used a 9-0 run to break a 6-6 tie and never looked back. Edgar Reyes started the run with a pair of baskets, which was followed by a steal and layup by Cauy Crutcher. The next time down the floor for the Bulldogs, Crutcher knocked down a 3-pointer to give McDermitt a 15-6 advantage.
Owyhee stopped the spurt with a 3-pointer of their own, but McDermitt ended the first eight minutes with a 7-0 run, including five from Reyes. In between baskets by the senior, Troy McKee made two free throws.
The run extended to 11-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, until Owyhee stopped with a basket at the 6:55 mark. Crutcher, Reyes and McKee continued to do much of the damage for the Bulldogs. The three combined for 19 of the 21 points in the second quarter. A jump shot by Reyes gave McDermitt its largest lead of the first half at 43-21.
“We did not play well the night before, so it was nice to see the way we came out against Owyhee,” Smith said. “Our press got to them a little bit and we prevented them from cherry picking on us.”
The trio added 11 of the 13 points in the third quarter to keep the advantage at 18 points at 56-38. The only other player to score in the quarter was Diego Navarro.
The Bulldog lead never dropped below 17 points in the fourth quarter, as McDermitt cruised to the win.
Reyes led all scorers with 23 points, Crutcher added 22 and McKee had 19.
“Those guys have been with me for a while now,” said the coach. “They know what I expect out of them.”
Ben Draunidalo and Navarro each had four points and Dominique Finley had two.
McDermitt holds off Carlin
McDermitt returned to its home floor on Friday night and came away with a 57-39 win over Carlin.
McDermitt (4-0 Eastern 1A, 10-6 overall) jumped out to an 11-4 lead after eight minutes of play and cruised from there. The advantage grew to 29-12 at halftime and the double-digit gap remained the rest of the way.
“Even though we had a nice lead, we did not play good,” Smith said. “We just ran through the motions and let Carlin stick around. We did not shoot the ball well. We let Carlin stick around.”
Each squad scored 16 points in the third quarter and the Bulldogs outscored the Railroaders 12-11 in the fourth quarter.
Reyes had a game-high 26 points, while McKee added 11. Duane Horse netted eight points, Crutcher seven and Navarro five.
McDermitt hosted Independence on Tuesday and results were not available at press time. The Bulldogs closed out the first part of the Eastern 1A slate on Friday at Eureka at 7:30 p.m.
“Going to Eureka will be the big test for us,” Smith said. “They are always a tough team. We will be able to gauge ourselves after that game. I am proud of the guys right now. They are having fun and playing well.”
