While the girls were in eastern Nevada, the McDermitt High School boys basketball team was in Reno this past weekend for the 2021 Winter Invitational JV tournament at North Valleys High School.
The tournament featured six Northern 4A teams, Hug from the Northern 3A and the Bulldogs.
After missing the previous season to the pandemic, McDermitt hit the floor for the first time in almost 660 days.
The last time the Bulldogs were on the floor was Valentine’s Day February 2020.
“It was good to just get back on the floor and play,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “We were rusty and short-handed. We had only five players for our first game and six in the last two. We didn’t have a ton on experience out on the floor."
McDermitt opened up the bracketed tournament on Thursday with a 64-29 loss to Spanish Springs.
Senior Braeden Ramsey led the Bulldogs with 21 points.
“Braeden stepped up and played the point-guard position for us,” Smith said. “He had a great fame against Spanish Springs.”
The Bulldogs took on Galena on Friday suffered a 57-11 loss to the Grizzlies.
Ramsey, Jeremiah Horn and Enrique Villalobos each had four points.
McDermitt closed out the three-day event with a 51-31 loss to Hug. The Bulldogs held a lead in the first half but the Hawks pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Ramsey scored nine points and Lane Barnett and Villalobos had eight points apiece. Horn netted two points.
“We were a tired group by the end of the third game,” added the coach. “We played out best game of the weekend against Hug. We are still trying to figure things out and I want to play these games for a reason. We want to play these bigger teams to get us better.”
McDermitt is back on the road this weekend for the Comstock Classic in Virginia City.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Virginia City at 1:20 p.m. and Coleville, Calif., at 4 p.m. on Friday. McDermitt is set meet up with Pahranagat Valley 10:20 a.m. and Mineral County at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday.
McDermitt makes its home debut on Tuesday, Dec. 14 against Pyramid Lake at 5:30 p.m.
“We know it’s going to be another tough tournament,” Smith said. “It will be a chance to see what the other 1A schools look like. Mineral County, Pahranagat Valley and Virginia City are all perennial powers. The goal for us is to get better and ready to go when the league season starts.”
