It was a good week to be a Pershing County Mustang boys basketball player. On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the varsity boys beat the visiting Battle Mountain Longhorns 61-51 in Lovelock.
This past Saturday, the Mustangs remained home to ground the Silver Stage Nighthawks 69-59.
With the back-to-back wins, Pershing County improved to 14-3 overall, and 4-1 in the Northern 2A.
Jason Allen coaches the team.
Mustangs bash
Battle Mountain
Two rivals squared off on Jan. 9. The Battle Mountain and Lovelock kids stomped and cheered for their teams.
The spirit squads stunted and backflipped. The school mascots held a dance-off. Steve Evenson announced.
“It was a typical Battle Mountain game,” said Allen. “The score was close all the way through with both teams playing hard.”
Battle Mountain’s Chris Figueroa, Miles Piramide and Mason Fuller put eight points on the scoreboard before Pershing County got a single bucket.
But midway through the first quarter, the sleeping giant awoke.
Pershing County’s Derek Sandusky drove the ball across the court. He lit up the scoreboard with a field goal for the Mustangs.
“Derek took over the game,” said Allen.
But the Longhorns persisted. At the end of the first quarter, Battle Mountain led by four points (10-6).
“That’s when Kyle Barter and Chuy Acosta stepped up big,” said Allen.
Still, the Longhorns held onto a slim lead for most of the game.
With just minutes until the final buzzer, the fourth quarter was tied up at 42. To the delight of the home crowd, Sandusky broke through with a 2-point field goal to nudge the Mustangs ahead by a nose.
Battle Mountain’s Piramide tied the game up again. That’s when Pershing County’s Acosta sank a 3-point shot that energized the Mustang’s offense.
Barter punched in two field goals and a 3-pointer. Battle Mountain was forced to foul and sent Sandusky to the charity stripe.
Every eye in the gym glommed onto the PCHS junior. Cool as a cucumber, he netted three free throws. Pershing grabbed the league win.
Allen noted the Longhorn’s strengths.
“At the end of the day our kids just made a couple more plays than they did,” he said.
Mustangs ground the Nighthawks
On Friday evening the Mustangs hosted Silver Stage.
“I thought the Mustangs shot the ball well and it’s a good thing because Stage did too,” said Allen.
At the half, the scoreboard read 44-36 in Pershing County’s favor.
By the end of the third quarter, Pershing County led by 14 points at 61-47.
Silver Stage was unable to make up the deficit. Once again, Pershing County carried the day.
“It wasn’t our best game defensively, but a win is a win,” said Allen. “And, wins are hard to come by in our league this year.”
Pershing County traveled to Yerington on Tuesday to challenge the Lions (4-2). Results were not available at press time.
Pershing County races toward the postseason with a pair of road games this week. On Friday, they play North Tahoe at 7:30 p.m. The next day they face the Incline Highlanders (3-3) at 3:30 p.m.
Then, Battle Mountain (6-1) and Lovelock (4-1) meet again, this time in Longhorn country. The rivals compete on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The Mustangs host the Yerington Lions (4-2) on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m.
