Even though it didn’t show in the win/loss column, McDermitt High School boys basketball coach Jack Smith was pleased with the performance of the team from week one to week two.
The Bulldogs were in Virginia City this past weekend for the Comstock Classic and dropped four games to fall to 0-7 on the season.
“I could see improvement and that is what I am looking for,” said MHS head coach Jack Smith. “We didn’t get down on ourselves and played hard. The one thing I am still looking for is getting a little more pep on the floor. We lost too many 50/50 battles on the floor. I want to see us start winning some more of those battles on the floor.”
McDermitt opened with host Virginia City and suffered an 80-25 loss to the Muckers.
Virginia City jumped out to a 23-6 lead in the first quarter and led 431-6 at halftime.
The Muckers came out of the break with a 31-5 run and did not look back. Braeden Ramsey led the squad with 10 points and seven rebounds.
“They had one kid get hot and left him in there,” Smith said. “They didn’t take it easy on us. We could have gotten demoralized after the game but shook it off and bounced back and played better. Our goal after the game was, we are not going to quit no matter what. When you are not scoring a lot of points in a game, you get down on yourself and we wanted to avoid that. We picked ourselves up after that and played better.”
In its second game last Friday, McDermitt was knocked off 54-39 by Coleville, Calif.
Ramsey had 15 points, while Enrique Villalobos added eight points and 18 rebounds.
“We looked better but Coleville was just a step quicker and got to the loose balls,” added the coach. “They beat us to the ball. I want us to be like that.”
In the opening game on Saturday, McDermitt took on Pahranagat Valley from the Southern 1A. The Panthers used a 22-4 run in the first quarter to pull away for a 55-27 win.
Pahranagat Valley led 35-13 at halftime, but watched as the Bulldogs turned up the defensive pressure and outscored the Panthers 10-6 in the third quarter.
Pahranagat Valley stretched out the advantage with a 14-4 spurt in the final eight minutes of play.
“No matter what the scored is, we wanted to be gritty and show no quit,” Smith said. “Pahranagat Valley is your typical physical team. They have some big boys and not afraid to go inside and get those shots by the basket.”
Ramsey had a team-high 22 points and Villalobos added five points.
In the tournament finale, McDermitt lost 64-37 to Mineral County.
“Mineral County is one of the best teams in the state for 1A schools,” Smith said. “They could have done what Virginia City did but didn’t. They had some younger players in and were running their offense. I am okay with that. I have been on both sides of that scenario.”
Ramsey had 15 points and six rebounds and Villalobos added 7 points and 18 rebounds.
“We played a lot of zone defense and did a pretty good job,” added the coach. “I am a coach that lies to press and play man-to-man but right now we have to stick with this zone until later in the year.”
Weather permitting, McDermitt is scheduled to travel to Susanville, Calif., this weekend for its final preseason tournament of the year.
The Bulldogs scheduled home opener on Tuesday against Pyramid Lake was postponed and will be rescheduled for January.
“We will be closer to full strength at this tournament,” Smith said. “This is another just to get better and get ready for the league season. Our goals are small and we are going out there and accomplishing them. I just want to see us play hard.”
