On Saturday, Jan. 6, the Battle Mountain High School (BMHS) Longhorns traveled to Ely to face the White Pine High School (WPHS) Bobcats in a Northern 2A conference game. The Longhorns handily defeated the Bobcats by a final score of 65-42.
The Longhorn boys varsity extended their win streak this past weekend after defeating the West Wendover Wolverines on Friday night and then the White Pine Bobcats on Saturday. The tough road wins earned the Longhorns their 13th straight win and place the Longhorns on top of the Northern 2A standing at 4-0 in league games.
“The game Saturday, we started slow but rebounded the ball well against White Pine. We played consistent defense and matched their physical play very well,” said Longhorn head coach Roger Wallock, “Reese Artz and Mason Fuller both had double-doubles and had outstanding games. Gabe Naveran, Bradley Rodgers, and Diego Saenz did an excellent job on their best player, wearing him down throughout the game.”
The (13-2) BMHS Longhorns defeated the (5-8) Bobcats despite the slow start in the game. After the first quarter, the Longhorns led the game by six with a score of 20-14. They established their dominance in on the boards and were able to extend their lead at halftime by a score of 36-20.
Forward Artz came to play in White Pine and killed the Bobcats with his rebounding. Artz led the Longhorns in scoring with 16 points in the game and added another 11 rebounds in the contest. Artz did not lead the Longhorns in rebounds, as Mason Fuller also chipped in a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Fuller and Artz continuously crashed the boards and boxed out the Bobcat players leading to easy buckets underneath the basket. Miles Piramide also chipped into the Longhorn victory adding 10 points and led the team with six assists in the contest. Naveran led the Longhorns with five steals, while Danny Diaz and Fuller were right behind him, with three steals each. Chris Figueroa who had an off-scoring night made up for it on defense and led the Longhorns in team blocks with three.
The Longhorns finished off the Bobcats with the final score of 65-42 and now control their destiny to finish as the top team in the Northern 2A. Currently, the Longhorns are sitting on top of the standings as the only undefeated conference team at (4-0).
“Good start to league play at 4-0 but it is early and we need to continue to get better each week, if we are to maintain our momentum,” Wallock informed the Bugle.
The Longhorns are expecting a challenge to their momentum this Tuesday, Jan. 9, when they travel to Pershing County to play a Mustang team coming off a blowout loss to the West Wendover Wolverines. The 12-3 Mustangs look to bounce back against their longtime rival Longhorns. The Mustangs head coach was tossed out of the West Wendover game on Saturday night and may not be able to coach during their home game against the Longhorns. The two heavyweight basketball programs are going into the game knowing how important a victory would be for league standings.
