The Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team went on the road for its last road league games of the regular season. The Longhorns dominated the Silver Stage Nighthawks on Friday and held off a late comeback by the Yerington Lions to earn their 20th win. Of the season
On Friday, Battle Mountain took to the court against a struggling but desperate Silver Stage team, battling to get into the final playoff spot before the end of the season.
The Longhorns ended any hope that the Nighthawks had and earned an upset victory, after jumping out to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter. Miles Piramide led the Longhorns in scoring with 15 points, while teammate Chris Figueroa added another 14 points and led the team with six rebounds.
Battle Mountain’s Danny Diaz continued to play tough defense through the weekend and led the team in assists against the Nighthawks with five. The Nighthawks tried to use their strength on offense with 6’8” Kevin Kable but the Longhorn big men Reese Artz and Figueroa held him to only eight points for the game.
The Longhorns blew out the Nighthawks by the final score of 59-20 with a running clock going throughout most of the fourth quarter.
“We came out against Silver Stage as intense defensively as we had all year and maintained it most of the game,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock, “We never gave them a chance to think they could beat us.”
On Saturday, Battle Mountain traveled to Yerington to take on the Lions. The last time the two teams met, the Longhorns needed double overtime to win. No overtime was required this time but the strong Lions team challenged the Longhorns once again. Mason Fuller led the Longhorns with 20 points and made six 3-point shots. Figueroa scored 18 points and Piramide added 14 to make up most of the scoring for the Longhorns in the game.
Figueroa added to his stats by leading the Longhorns with eight rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots against Yerington. The Longhorns held an eight-point lead at halftime, with the score 30-22.
The second half continued with more of the same. The Longhorns outpaced the Lions but the scrappy Lyon County school continued to make it a close game.
Going into the fourth quarter they were down by only 10 points and the Lions outscored the Longhorns in the fourth quarter but not by enough. Battle Mountain escaped Yerington with a 60-55 victory.
“Yerington is a good team and is a tough environment to play in,” Wallock said. “Again, we came out aggressive and built an early lead but we didn't maintain the energy at times and allowed them to crawl back in it. Chris had another monster game with 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks. said Wallock, Eddie Morfin came in and gave us a nice spark off the bench, hitting a timely three and Miles (Piramide) played like his usual steady self.”
“However, the difference was Mason Fuller's six three-pointers and two charges he took in the game. When Mason shoots like that, we are tough to beat,” said Wallock, “This was a good weekend for us, responding to the tough loss Tuesday.”
The win brought the Longhorns record to 20-4 on the season and 10-2 in league. The victory also locks in the Longhorns to no worse than the number three seed in the 2A Northern league playoffs. Currently, they are sitting in the second spot and would need Pershing County to lose two games to reclaim the top seed in the tournament.
Battle Mountain hosted Pershing County on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and lost 63-51 to the Mustangs. The Longhorns raced out to a 9-3 lead on the strength of hot shooting from Piramide and Figueroa. However, Pershing County rallied with a 10-2 run to the end the opening quarter and lead 12-11.
The Mustangs netted the first seven points of the second quarter to go in front 19-11 and cap off a 17-2 spurt. The Longhorns closed the gap to 26-24 after a 3-pointer by Fuller and a basket by Gabe Naveran.
Pershing County opened up a 13-point lead in the third quarter but that was cut to 46-41 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Danny Diaz and Figueroa and a bucket by Bradley Rogers.
Pershing County increased the margin back to double figures midway through the fourth quarter and held on for the win.
The Longhorns will return home for their final three games of the season and play against the White Pine Bobcats on Friday at 7:30 p.m..
