MCDERMITT — The McDermitt High School boys basketball team remained in the hunt for second place in the Eastern 1A, with a pair of league victories this past weekend at home.
McDermitt cruised to a 78-48 victory over Carlin on Friday night and the Bulldogs defeated Owyhee 57-47 on Saturday afternoon to improve to 7-2 in the Eastern 1A.
“It was not the prettiest against Owyhee but a win is a win,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “We didn’t take care of the ball very well and were taking a lot of unnecessary 3-point shots at the beginning of the game.
McDermitt holds
off Owyhee
Neither team could pull away in the early going with three ties inside the first four minutes of the contest. A 3-point field goal by Duane Masters gave the Bulldogs a 9-6 advantage but the Braves quickly countered. Owyhee closed out the opening eight minutes of action with a 7-2 run, including the final six points to go in front 16-11.
The Braves maintained a six-point lead at 21-15, when Masters started a rally with a 3-point field goal. Sophomore Ben Draunidalo added the next six points and Cauy Crutcher made a short jump shot to give McDermitt a 26-23 advantage. The Bulldogs eventually took a 26-25 lead into halftime.
McDermitt continued to sit in a zone defense in the second half and it worked against the Owyhee offense. The Braves scored just 31 points in the final three quarters.
“Everyone knows I hate to play zone,” Smith said. “The Owyhee coach was surprised we were in it and they didn’t know how to react. Going to a zone is last resort for me.”
Behind nine points from Draunidalo and Masters, the Bulldogs were able to build a 37-30 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter. However, the seven-point advantage quickly disappeared to two at 39-37. Crutcher stopped the run with a basket to end the quarter.
Owyhee missed four free throws to start the fourth quarter and McDermitt answered with a combined eight points from Masters and Draunidalo to pull away at 49-40. The Braves closed within six points at 51-45, with 1:51 to play but could get no closer.
Draunidalo had a game-high 19 points, to go with 11 rebounds and four assists. Masters joined him in double figures with 18 and Crutcher added 14 points. Diego Navarro had four points and Duane Horse two.
Bulldogs crush
Railroaders
McDermitt opened the weekend with a 78-48 win over Carlin on Friday night.
The Bulldog offense exploded for 31 points in the first eight minutes of action. Draunidalo scored 12 of his team high 28 points in the first quarter. Navarro and Crutcher added eight and seven points, respectively, in the opening quarter.
Draunidalo scored 14 more points in the second quarter and McDermitt picked up 3-pointers from Navarro, Masters and Crutcher to lead 60-25 at halftime. The contest was played with a running clock in the second half as part of the NIAA 35-point mercy rule.
Crutcher finished with 21 points, Navarro 18, Masters five and Bruno Rincon. Logan Crutcher and Horse each had two points.
Jackpot has clinched the Eastern 1A at 8-0, while McDermitt is second at 7-2 and Eureka (6-3) is third. Owyhee (3-5) holds the fourth and final playoff spot.
Second place will be up for grabs on Friday night, as McDermitt host Eureka at 7:30 p.m.
Mineral County (13-1) leads the Western 1A and Whittell (10-2) is second. Sierra Lutheran (11-3) and Virginia City rounds out the top four.
The Northern 1A Regional Championship will take place in Reno from Feb. 15-17. The action on day one will be split between Wooster and North Valleys High School. The semifinals and finals will be played at North Valleys.
