PCHS sophomore Trenton Rhodes gets ready to score for the Mustangs earlier in the 2023-24 season.
The Pershing County boys basketball team had their ups and downs this season.
However, 2023-2024 was a breakthrough year for them.
Last Thursday, they reached their goal of making it to the playoffs, hosted by West Wendover.
"We celebrated our victories, learned from our defeats, and will cherish the moments that made the season so memorable," said coach Jesse Canchola.
Top-seeded West Wendover and Incline each got a bye in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament.
Meanwhile, the No. 6 seeded Mustangs lost to the Yerington Lions 65-47 and Battle Mountain beat North Tahoe 73-63.
"The effort was there against Yerington, but basketball is a game of points which we lacked in the first half with a 24-8 deficit. We just couldn't make up the large deficit," said Canchola.
The Mustangs fought back with 27 points in the third quarter but it wasn't enough.
"We came up short but the process is not done," said Canchola.
In the semifinal round on Friday, West Wendover beat Battle Mountain 63-48. Incline wiped out Yerington 61-47.
The final round came down to West Wendover versus Incline. West Wendover won 38-34 to become the zone champions.
On Thursday, Feb. 22, West Wendover will play Needles in the state semifinals at Lawlor Event Center in Reno. Meanwhile Lake Mead Academy will play Incline.
The title match will pit the winner of each game against the other at the Virginia Street gym on Friday, Feb. 23.
"As a coaching staff, we appreciate our seniors (Conner Fecht and Aaron Kienbaum) and look forward to the future of the program," said Canchola.
The five juniors are Izayuh McGlothin, Michael Reitz, Luis Sanchez, Efrain Aceves and Travis Donaldson. Trenton Rhodes and Taylor Montes are sophomores. Amare Rosas is a freshman.
The kids look forward to getting to work when the time is right. It's going to be a great summer," said Canchola.