After a handful of preseason tournaments, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team got its Eastern 1A schedule under way on the road last weekend.
McDermitt stopped in Wells on Friday, Jan. 3, and suffered a 69-50 loss.
The teams traded buckets for much of the opening eight minutes of play, with the Leopards taking a slim 18-14 advantage. The difference on the night was the second quarter, where Wells outscored McDermitt 18-7 to lead 36-21 at halftime.
The Bulldogs could not get the deficit under double figures the rest of the way, with the Leopards increasing the lead by two points entering the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Tristan Bitt knocked down five 3-pointers to pace McDermitt with a game-high 22 points. Bitt added four rebounds and two steals. Freshman Kaden Crutcher joined him in double figures with 13 points to go with five steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Enrique Villalobos added six points, but had a team-high 15 rebounds and Braden Ramsey netted five points and had three rebounds, one steal and an assist. Alex Navarro and Steele Crossley each had two points.
The road trip continued last Saturday in Lund. The Mustangs are playing in the Eastern 1A for the first time and new to the schedule.
McDermitt raced out to a quick start in the opening quarter and then held Lund to four points in the second quarter to lead 34-14 at halftime. The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 16-4 in the second quarter.
The contest was played evenly in the second half, with each team outscoring the other by one point.
McDermitt (3-10 overall, 1-1 Eastern 1A) had three players in double figures, led by Bitt with 14, which included four 3-pointers. Navarro added 12 points and Villalobos had 11. Villalobos was unstoppable on the boards, as the sophomore grabbed 24 rebounds for a double-double. He also had two assists. Bitt had eight rebounds and Navarro five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Waylon Nino contributed seven points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists, Ramsey had three points, two rebounds and two assists and Kaden Crutcher and Aiden Gomez had two points each. Crutcher added four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
McDermitt stepped out of league play this past Tuesday night and lost 55-35 to Jordan Valley, Ore.
After a low-scoring first quarter, where the Mustangs led 9-6, Jordan Valley pulled away in the second and third quarters, holding McDermitt to just eight points in that span.
Jordan Valley led 24-10 at halftime and outscored McDermitt 21-4 in the third quarter. After scoring just 14 points through three quarters, the Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 21-10 in the final eight minutes.
Bitt led McDermitt with eight points, Crutcher and Navarro each had six, Villalobos four and Crossley, Gomez and Nino two each.
McDermitt hosted Wells on Friday and results were not available at press time. The Bulldogs are back home today (Saturday) to play Jackpot at 2:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs will be on the road for three straight games after this weekend, playing at Carlin (Jan. 17), Owyhee (Jan. 18) and Eureka (Jan. 24). McDermitt returns home to host Lund on Jan. 31.
