The Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team remained in the playoff hunt after picking up a victory over Silver Stage on the road this past week. The Longhorns were in action three times, dropping games to Pershing County and Yerington and are now 8-11 overall and 3-6 in the Northern 2A.
Battle Mountain hosted Pershing County on Tuesday, Feb. 1, and fell short 72-68 in a wild back-and-forth fight against its rival. The Longhorns played with just six players and were down to four at the end of the contest.
After getting the opening bucket from Terrance Fetterly, Battle Mountain found itself down 11-4 after a quick 11-2 run by Pershing County. The Mustangs led 16-7 midway through the opening quarter but the momentum shifted after Pershing County was called for two quick technical fouls after Fetterly made a layup and was fouled. Fetterly missed the free throw after the foul but Jr Vazquez made the four free throws off the technical foul. When Battle Mountain took the ball out of bounds, Boden Machado knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 16.
Battle Mountain claimed a 20-16 advantage after a bucket by Samuelson, but Pershing County scored the next five points to lead 21-20.
The back-and-forth battle continued into the second quarter, with the Longhorns grabbing a five-point lead at 33-28 after baskets by Fetterly and Braden Wahrenburg and two free throws by Machado.
In a contest of swings, Pershing County rallied with a 13-3 run to lead 44-36 at halftime. The Mustangs’ advantage grew to 52-38 in the third quarter, when it was the Longhorns’ turn to answer back. Battle Mountain reeled off a 9-0 run off of five points by Vazquez and baskets by Machado and Fetterly.
Trailing by seven points at the start of the fourth quarter, Battle Mountain cut into the deficit off a 3-pointer by Vazquez and a bucket by Samuelson to trail 58-54. The Pershing County advantage dropped to 60-56 with 5:35 to play after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Fetterly.
Battle Mountain completed the comeback and led 66-65 with 2:01 to go when Vazquez picked up a loose ball on the floor and connected on a 3-pointer. After both teams missed free throw attempts, the Mustangs got the rebound off their miss and putback a shot to lead 67-66.
The Longhorns missed a layup the next time down the floor, but Pershing County missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the free throw line. Battle Mountain got the ball back and Vazquez was fouled with 21.4 seconds to play. The junior made both free throws to give the Longhorns a 68-67 lead.
Pershing County retook the lead in the final seconds at 69-68 with seconds to play and Battle Mountain missed a shot with 1.3 seconds to end their chances. After getting the rebound, Battle Mountain was whistled for a foul and technical foul, leading to the final three points from the foul line.
Yerington 81,
Battle Mountain 41
Battle Mountain traveled Yerington on Friday night and was defeated 81-41 by the Lions. Yerington currently sits in second in the Northern 2A standings.
Battle Mountain 60, Silver Stage 46
Battle Mountain closed out the week on a high note with a 60-46 win in Silver Springs on Saturday afternoon. The victory kept the Longhorns in playoff contention.
Battle Mountain traveled to West Wendover on Tuesday and results were not available at press time. The Longhorns host Coral Academy on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
