Any boys basketball week that starts out with a win over Battle Mountain can’t be all bad.
Last Tuesday the Pershing County Mustangs traveled to their rival school and beat the Longhorns 72-68.
The Longhorns stomped the Mustangs by two points 52-50 a couple of weeks ago, making Tuesday’s win especially sweet.
Ashton Nolf led the scoring with 22 points. Travis Donaldson had 18. Diego Gonzalez added nine more.
“We had tremendous support that traveled to Battle Mountain,” said coach Jesse Canchola. “It was a dog fight until the very end. If we wanted any chance to get into the playoffs as sixth seed we needed to win.”
This past Thursday, the Mustangs hosted the North Tahoe Lakers. It was senior night at PCHS. Families packed the gym, ready to give a big sendoff to Nolf, Gonzalez and Esteban Vidrio.
The Mustangs lost 46-36 to the Lakers, as it was the second loss against the Tahoe City team.
“North Tahoe was a clinch game for the playoffs,” said Canchola. “We fell short but showed we can keep grinding. We had a choice at halftime to go one way or the other. We chose to fight and ultimately got it within five points before we had to play the foul game.”
Donaldson led with 14 points, Kienbaum had 11 and Nolf added five more.
Pershing’s basketball week ended on Friday in Incline Village. The Highlanders swatted the Mustangs 78-29 for the second time this year.
The team missed Nolf. He was absent due to illness. “We knew we had to come out fast and keep the game within reach. We didn’t execute much and fatigue set in. Incline plain out whooped us,” said Canchola.
Nonetheless, several Mustangs scored, an indication of depth. Kaden Chambers led with 13 points. Donaldson threw in eight more. Luis Sanchez, Vidrio, Kienbaum and Gonzalez each had two.
The Mustangs’ regular season ends on the road against West Wendover this Friday.
The playoffs begin Feb. 17. The Mustangs hope to be there. They set the goal at the beginning of the season.
“We just have to win as many games as possible,” said the coach. “The unbalanced schedules due to Covid-canceled games has made the standings hard to figure out so we just have to let everything play out. Now we wait and see what Coral, Stage and Battle Mountain do. We’ll have a better idea after Friday’s games.”
Making it to the playoffs would mean a lot to the Mustangs, especially the seniors.
But Canchola’s pride in them is unwavering either way. Thursday night showed the town of Lovelock feels the same.
