Coming off an emotional last-second loss to North Tahoe, the Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team started off slowly against Incline on Friday, Dec. 21, in Battle Mountain.
In the final contest of 2018, the Highlanders jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first quarter en route to a 66-37 win, as the Longhorns dropped to 1-3 in the Northern 3A.
“Incline is extremely good, we competed well for a half but couldn’t maintain any offense and couldn’t score,” said BMHS coach Roger Wallock.
Battle Mountain rallied back in the second quarter but still trailed by double digits (33-19) going into halftime. Incline stretched its lead to over 20 points in the second half with a 17-9 run in the third quarter.
The Highlanders held the Longhorns to nine points once again in the final eight minutes and continued to pull away with a 16-9 spurt.
Danny Diaz paced Battle Mountain with 13 points and three assists. Aldo Castellanos and DJ Martinez each had five points.
Roy Chavira added four points and a team-high seven rebounds. Alex Valles and Marcus Jury had three points apiece.
“We have a lot of improving to do if we are to compete consistently in this league,” Wallock said.
Battle Mountain is back home Friday to play Silver Stage at 7:30 p.m. The Longhorns stay on their home floor to play Yerington on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
