MCDERMITT — The McDermitt boys varsity basketball team hosted the Eureka Vandals and took a tough loss this past Friday night.
The Bulldogs were ahead 11-5 at the end of the first, but they lost their bite for a while after that, going down 20-13 at the half.
“We seem not to be able to put 4 quarters together,” said MHS head basketball coach Jack Smith. “We played one of our better first quarters of the year, but we missed our shots in just about every variety of ways that you could after that. You get a little tired, and then you can’t seem to buy a bucket. Our freshman Alex (Gomez) guarded their point guard that has been starting for three years at Eureka. You don’t get any fame for defense, but he stepped up pretty good tonight.”
Former Chicago Bull NBA player and motivational speaker John Saintignon came to McDermitt to talk to the students about sports and life lessons last weekend.
“I have had the unique opportunity to grow up playing basketball, enjoy it, and use it as a tool to get an education," Saintignon said. "I got the chance to keep playing after college ball and move into coaching. There are a lot of good lessons that you can learn if you are appreciative of the game; if you are not, it will spit you out. If you are humble and learn from the lessons that you gain from it, it is an incredible thing. “I don’t know if there is any greater calling in life than to look at some kid and tell them that you believe in them.”
Smith commented on Saintignon’s visit.
“John was a shot of positive energy when he came here," added Smith. "The kids really wanted to win this game for him.”
McDermitt came back a bit to tally a 12-8 point third quarter advantage, putting them down only 28-25 at the end of three.
But the Vandals turned on their jets in the fourth, outscoring McDermitt 25-12 in the fourth quarter for the 53-37 victory.
“They had some big guys and we tend to struggle when the other team has three of them," Smith said. "We get outmuscled. Jagger hurt his ankle in the game and so he could not move very well; that did not help us. We missed a lot of free throws, and we can’t afford to do that. If we could have made our free throws, it would have been a closer game.”
Wells is slated for Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Jackpot rounds out the year at home for the Bulldogs with a Feb. 2 matchup.
McDermitt finishes the year on the road with trips to Carlin on Feb. 8, Owyhee on Feb. 9, and the season finale at Eureka will be held on Feb. 15.
