With cancellations and postponements, a number of high school basketball teams were forces to make a number of games at the end of the season.
It was no different for the McDermitt High School boys, who had to play four games in four days to end the regular season.
McDermitt traveled to Eureka on Wednesday, Feb. 9, and were defeated 63-48. The Bulldogs returned home on Thursday, Feb. 10, and beat Carlin 59-58 in overtime.
McDermitt hosted its regular season finale at home on Friday and lost 39-28. The regular season concluded on Saturday with a 52-41 road loss to Wells.
The Bulldogs ended the regular season at 4-17 overall and 3-7 in the Northern 1A East.
“We weren’t the only ones in that spot but playing four games in four days is tough,” said MHS coach Jack Smith. “You usually do that at summer tournaments at camps. We were out of gas those final games after playing in that overtime game against Carlin. We had nothing left in the tank.”
Eureka 54,
McDermitt 47
McDermitt senior Braden Ramsey scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed three rebounds and two assist for the Bulldogs. Fellow senior Enrique Villalobos added nine points and a team-high 16 rebounds.
Elias Smart and Eli Northrup added five points apiece, Jeremiah Horn had four points and Lane Barnett two. Northrup added seven rebounds and Horns had five.
McDermitt 59,
Carlin 58 OT
McDermitt’s match-up with Carlin this past Thursday was going to decide who would host a regional playoff contest. The Bulldogs overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 59-58 in overtime.
“It was a fun one for the fans but a killer on me,” Smith said. “We looked good at times and then tried to give the game away at times. It hurt us when Enrique fouled out in the third quarter. It helped when their point guard fouled out too. Braden stepped up for us and had a great game.”
Carlin scored the first five points of the night, including a 3-point bank shot. After a slow start, McDermitt caught fire from long distance, as Ramsey, who finished the night with a game-high 32 points, tied the game at 6-6 with two 3-pointers.
Tristan Bitt added a pair of 3-pointer of his own to make the score 12-6 and conclude a 12-1 run. The Bulldogs eventually led 16-7 after eight minutes of play.
Ramsey added a pair of baskets to keep the lead at 20-10 early in the second quarter, only to see Carlin dwindle the advantage to 21-17.
Kess Hinkey stopped the run with his only bucket of the night but moments later Villalobos went to the bench with his third foul with 1:38 left in the half.
Carlin had a chance to tie the game at the end of the first half but missed three free throws with :00.8 left on the clock and McDermitt led 23-20 at the break.
Behind Ramsey and Villalobos, the Bulldogs held a 27-20 advantage in the third quarter, but Villalobos fouled midway through the quarter with two quick fouls. The momentum quickly shifted, as Carlin trailed 28-22 but used a 14-0 run to take a 36-22 lead. The Railroaders led 39-32 after three quarters of play.
Carlin could not keep the momentum, as Ramsey scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter from McDermitt and Horn added basket to tie the game at 42.
The Railroaders made two free throws to go back up by a pir of points, when Ramsey scored five straight points for the Bulldogs to put them in front at 47-45.
After Carlin tied the game at 47. Northrup putback a shot to put McDermitt back on top.
Carlin tied the game at 49 after making two free throws with 1:32 to play and 11 seconds later, McDermitt went up a point at 50-49.
The Railroaders tied the game at 50 after making 1-of-2 free throws and had a chance to win in the final second but turned the ball over after inbounding the ball with 8.7 seconds to go. McDermitt had a chance to win in regulation but Ramsey’s shot as time ran out was no good.
The teams traded the lead in overtime with Carlin leading 57-55 with 90 seconds to go. With a under a minute to play, Horn converted a basket to tie the game at 57.
Carlin took its last lead at 58-57 after making a free throw with 48 seconds to go when the Bulldogs’ Horn connected on a shot in the paint to put McDermitt up 59-58. Carlin got final looks at the basket but could not convert the bucket.
Bitt joined Ramsey in double figures with 10 points, Horn added six, Villalobos five, Northrup four and Hinkey two.
Jackpot 39,
McDermitt 28
Jackpot secured the No. 3 seed in the Northern 1A East with slow-paced 39-28 win on Friday. The Bulldogs found it tough going on offense after the emotional win the night before and playing its third game in three days.
Bitt scored a team-high 12 points, all off 3-point field goals. Villalobos added seven points, Ramsey four, Lane Barnett three and Northrup two.
“We went man-to-man and doing okay and Jackpot was just happy to pass it around and wanted to stall,” Smith said. “You have to give credit to Jackpot. I thought we were playing good defense but Jackpot didn’t panic and ran it all night. They made a little run in the fourth quarter and that was all they needed.”
Wells 52,
McDermitt 41
McDermitt closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 52-41 loss in Wells, as the Leopards picked up their second league win of the season.
McDermitt hosted Carlin in the opening round of the Northern 1A East Regional Championships on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time.
If McDermitt won they would play Owyhee on Friday in Elko in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Eureka will play the winner of Jackpot and Wells on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The championship game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Elko High School.
“It’s good for us to get a home playoff game,” Smith said. “We haven’t had one of those in a long time. “From where we were at that the start of the season it was a good goal to accomplish.”
