With just two returning players from a season ago, this past weekend in Hawthorne was a good opportunity for the Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team to get to know each other.
The Longhorns played five games at the Serpent Classic and came away with three victories.
Battle Mountain split a pair of contests on Thursday, Nov. 29, beating Virginia City 74-38 and losing to Mineral County (Hawthorne) 52-43.
The Longhorns also split games on Friday, Nov. 30, beating Smith Valley 61-30 and losing to Bishop, Calif., 39-28. Battle Mountain closed out the tournament with a 67-2 win over Pyramid Lake.
“Always a good tournament down in Hawthorne,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock. “Lots of game experience which this team desperately needs since I only returned two players from last year’s 10-man roster.”
BMHS cruises past
Virginia City
Battle Mountain jumped out to an early lead against the 1A school and never looked back in the season opener.
The Longhorns had three players in double figures, led by Roberto Esparza with 23 points. Danny Diaz added 12 points to go with eight assists and six steals. Roy Chavira had 10 points.
Marcus Jury had seven points and seven rebounds and Alan Martinez added five points, four steals and two blocks. DJ Martinez had a team-high six steals to go with six points.
Serpents knock
off Longhorns
In its second game on Nov. 29, Battle Mountain took on host Mineral County and lost by nine points. The Serpents have been one of the top 1A teams in the state over the past two years.
Diaz and Chavira each had 12 points for the Longhorns. Diaz also contributed seven rebounds and five assists. DJ Martinez scored four points and had four assists.
BMHS crushes
Smith Valley
Battle Mountain put up 43 points in the first half against Smith Valley and were never threatened by the Bulldogs.
Jury paced the Longhorns with 16 points, while Diaz added 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Alex Valles and DJ Martinez added eight and six points, respectively, and Alan Martinez had two points and four steals.
Battle Mountain knocked off by Bishop
Battle Mountain found it tough going on offense against Bishop, as the Longhorns suffered an 11-point loss to the Broncos.
For the first time in four games, Battle Mountain did not have a player reach double figures in scoring.
Esparza led the team in scoring with seven points. Jury netted five points and had 12 rebounds. Diaz also had five points to go with three assists. DJ Martinez and Alan Martinez each had three steals.
BMHS crushes
Pyramid Lake
Battle Mountain closed out the tournament with an easy win over Pyramid Lake.
DJ Martinez had a team-high 16 points, along with eight steals. Esparza had 14 points and Jury added 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
“We played well except the Bishop game where we only scored six points in the entire first half,” Wallock said. “We are still trying to improve and learn what this team can do. They worked hard defensively and rebound well overall.”
Battle Mountain is back on the road this weekend for the Comstock Classic in Virginia City. Battle Mountain is scheduled to play Coleville, Calif., on Thursday at 4:20 p.m. The Longhorns will play twice on Friday, starting with Pahranagat Valley at 2 p.m. and Sierra Lutheran at 4:40 p.m. The finale for Battle Mountain is against McDermitt on Saturday at 10:20 a.m.
