RENO — After picking up a victory in the first round of the Northern 1A Regional Championships, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team had the tall task of taking on Mineral County in the semifinals on Friday night at North Valleys High School in Reno.
The Serpents came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Western 1A and are the defending state champions. Mineral County is one of the top scoring teams in the state and like a fast-paced contest.
The quick pace did not disappoint, as both teams raced up and down the floor in the first 16 minutes of play.
McDermitt stayed basket for basket with Mineral County and trailed 48-40 at halftime. However, the Serpents pulled away in the second half to win 85-51. McDermitt finished the year at 12-14 overall and 8-2 in the Eastern 1A.
“We stayed with them for a half,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “I was hoping they would get tired and we could take advantage of that. The only way I thought we could play with them is to get into a track meet.”
McDermitt surprised Mineral County with eight quick points to start the night, which included two long 3-point shots by Cauy Crutcher. Ben Draunidalo added a basket in between the buckets by Crutcher.
Mineral County countered with seven straight points but the Bulldogs continued to shoot well in the beginning, as Diego Navarro knocked down a 3-pointer to give McDermitt an 11-7 lead with 5:11 to play in the opening quarter.
The Serpents answered back once again with eight consecutive points and late in the first quarter led 25-15.
A jump shot by Duane Horse and two free throws from Draunidalo closed the gap to single digits but Mineral County led 27-19 after eight minutes of play.
Draunidalo started the second quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play and Crutcher hit four more 3-pointers to keep McDermitt within five points at 44-39. Mineral County maintained a 48-39 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs did not go away to start the third quarter with the opening basket of the second half but it was all Serpents from there. Mineral County held McDermitt to just four points in the quarter and pulled away to a 67-43 advantage on the strength of a 19-4 run. The Serpents scored the final 10 points of the third quarter.
McDermitt made the opening basket of the fourth quarter but Mineral County followed with 10 consecutive points to go in front 77-45, when Navarro stopped the run with a 3-point shot. The contest became a running clock with 2:10 left to play.
Crutcher led McDermitt with 13 points and Draunidalo added 13. Navarro netted six points, and Duane Masters and Horse each had four points.
Bulldogs beat Falcons
McDermitt opened the regional tournament against Sierra Lutheran and earned a little revenge over the Falcons.
Sierra Lutheran upset McDermitt in the opening round of the 2017 regional championships when the Bulldogs were the No. 1 seed. Sierra Lutheran also beat McDermitt in the Rail City Classic in December at Sparks High School.
After a slow start, McDermitt pulled away in the second quarter and held on for a 63-51 win.
“It was a game we wanted to win,” Smith said. “It was some revenge for us.”
The Bulldogs trailed by two points after eight minutes of play but outscored the Falcons 14-5 in the second quarter to lead 27-20 and never trailed again.
McDermitt held a 42-36 lead in the fourth quarter but used a 12-3 run in a three-minute stretch to push the lead to 54-39 with less than four minutes to play.
In that span, Sierra Lutheran went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball two other times. Horse started the run with a driving layup and following a Sierra Lutheran turnover, Navarro followed with drive to the basket. After a turnover and missed shot by Sierra Lutheran’s Luke Bonafede, Navarro drained a rainbow 3-pointer with 5:04 left to make it 47-36 Crutcher made it 49-36, and after Sierra Lutheran missed again from the field, Navarro knocked in another 3-pointer to complete the surge.
Horse scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Draunidalo scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and Crutcher finished with 18 points. Masters added six points and Horse two.
*Darrell Moody of the Nevada Appeal contributed to this story.
