MCDERMITT — It seemed like it would never happen, but the McDermitt High School boys basketball team made its home debut this past weekend against Wells and Jackpot.
The Bulldogs had made their way through Reno, Virginia City, California and eastern Nevada in the first month of the season.
In a scheduling oddity, McDermitt hosted Wells on Friday, after playing the Leopards the week before on the road. Wells won that game 69-50 and completed the sweep with a 61-45 in McDermitt on the strength of a 16-8 run in the fourth quarter.
“We played them better this time,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “It’s hard to play a team two weeks in a row. “We missed some free throws and turned the ball over too much. If we clean that up, we were right in the game.”
Wells opened the game, scoring eight of the first nine points and forcing McDermitt to take an early timeout. The Bulldogs connected on its first field goal at the 3:04 mark of the first quarter on a put back by freshman guard Kaden Crutcher. Enrique Villalobos added a pair of buckets as well, as McDermitt was able to cut the deficit to 13-8 at the end of the opening period.
Villalobos had six points in the early part of the second quarter and Alex Navarro made two free throws to close the gap to 21-19. After a basket by the Leopards, McDermitt sophomore Tristan Bitt knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night at 25-23.
However, the Leopards came back down the floor on the next possession and converted an old-style 3-point play and added another bucket to lead 28-25 at halftime.
“The first time we played, we ran a lot of zone (defense) against them,” added the coach. “This time we came out and pressed them from the start and it worked. I wasn’t planning on doing that. We kept them off balance.”
Wells scored the first five points of the third quarter and held McDermitt scoreless for more than three minutes out of the break to push the advantage to eight points. The Leopards held a double-digit advantage on a couple occasions in the third quarter.
Wells used a 16-8 run in the fourth quarter to build to a 16-point lead and never saw the margin drop below double figures the rest of the way.
Bitt and Villalobos paced McDermitt with 12 points apiece and Crutcher added 10. Braeden Ramsey added seven points, Navarro three and Waylon Nino two.
Jaguars knock off Bulldogs
McDermitt was back on the floor Saturday afternoon to take on one of the best teams in the Eastern 1A, in Jackpot.
The Jaguars played in the 1A state tournament a season ago and brought back a majority of the players from that squad. Jackpot used a 29-point first quarter to win 60-18 and move McDermitt to 3-12 overall and 1-3 in the Eastern 1A.
“We knew that they were going to be a good team,” Smith said. “They are seasoned and brought back a pretty good team. We ran into a buzz saw today. They do a lot of things well and are well coached.”
A 3-pointer by Crutcher brought McDermitt within a point at 4-3, but the Bulldogs did not score for the last six minutes of the first quarter. The Jaguars closed out the opening period with 25 straight points on the strength of their full-court press, which allowed a number of easy layups.
Crutcher ended the run, 43 seconds into the second quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play, but Jackpot quickly pushed the advantage back to 38-8, until Bitt knocked down a 3-pointer. The Jaguars eventually took a 44-13 lead into halftime.
Jackpot held McDermitt scoreless in the third quarter to lead 56-13 and the margin grew to 60-13, when Colby Brown made a free throw with 2;22 to play to put McDermitt on the scoreboard for the first time in the second half.
Crutcher led McDermitt with eight points, Bitt had four, Villalobos three and Brown one.
“It’s a game that we have to shake off and not let it affect us,” Smith said. “We got to get back to work on Monday and get ready for this week.”
McDermitt starts a three-game road trip this weekend, starting in Carlin on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs will be in Owyhee on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tip and travel to Eureka on Friday, Jan. 24, for a 7;30 p.m. contest.
The Bulldogs are back home on Friday, Jan. 31, to play Lund at 4 p.m.
“Carlin is down a little but we have to ready to play,” Smith said. “Owyhee will be tough, they are probably right up there as one of the best teams in the league.”
