A year after winning the Eastern 1A title, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team will take the No. 2 seed from the league into the Northern 1A Regional Championship this week in Reno.
The Bulldogs capped off their regular season this past Friday night with a 72-62 victory over Eureka to finish 7-2 in league play.
McDermitt used strong first and third quarters against Eureka to pull away for the win. The Bulldogs outscored the Vandals 33-17 in that 16 minute stretch.
McDermitt jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the first quarter but that was quickly erased as Eureka exploded for 25 points in the second quarter. However, it was not enough to overcome the early deficit and the Bulldogs still led 31-30 at halftime.
McDermitt pulled away in the second half, with a 21-12 run in the third quarter to push the margin to 10 points. Eureka could not complete the comeback, with each squad scoring 20 points in the final eight minutes of play.
Cauy Crutcher led all scorers with 30 points in his final game in the McDermitt gym. Sophomore Ben Draunidalo finished with a double-double on the night, with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Duane Masters added nine points and Diego Navarro had seven points and a team-high 16 rebounds. Bruno Rincon had two points.
McDermitt will open the Northern 1A Regional Championships with Sierra Lutheran on Thursday at 4:40 p.m. at North Valleys High School. Sierra Lutheran beat McDermitt 55-42 earlier this year in the Rail City Classic. Sierra Lutheran also knocked McDermitt out of the playoffs last year.
Mineral County and Owyhee are also in McDermitt’s part of the bracket. The winner of the two games play on Friday at 8 p.m. at North Valleys High School.
Jackpot and Virginia City and Whittell and Eureka make up the other portion of the bracket. Those winners play at 4:40 p.m. on Friday. The championship is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at North Valleys High School.
