By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
Friday was a wonderful night for the Pirates. The Moapa Valley High School varsity basketball team beat their archrivals, the Virgin Valley High School Bulldogs, in Overton. Coaches around the Sunrise Division went to bed surprised at the score. The sixth ranking Moapa team upset the second ranked Bulldogs with a score of 42-38. What a way to start a weekend!
“We started working on our man to man offense the beginning of this week,” said Moapa Valley head coach Dallas Larsen. “Virgin Valley started the second half in their man.”
It must have been inspiration received by Larsen because the Pirates were able to build a lead in the third quarter and hold on to pull off the huge upset.
“We played our seniors hard the whole game” said Larsen.
This is the first time since Virgin Valley’s Coach Fitzsimmons has taken over as the Bulldog head coach that the Pirates have beaten the Dawgs.
The Pirates trailed Virgin Valley 25-18 at half time. The Dawgs outscored, but never really dominated the Pirates as they had in Mesquite when the two teams last met.
Virgin Valley scored a 10-9 first quarter advantage and extended it to 7 in the second quarter. Moapa Valley had scored 9 in each quarter.
Then the Pirates started a surge at the beginning of the third quarter. Within the first four minutes of the quarter they had nearly made up the difference. With 3:26 remaining in the third, the Pirates caught and passed the Dawgs when Nate Cox converted an offensive rebound and gave the Pirates the lead, 32-31. Virgin Valley wouldn’t lead again.
Coby Frei made a three-pointer extending the lead to 5 to end the third quarter 37-32. In all, Moapa Valley scored 19 points in the third and allowed only 7 to the stunned Bulldogs.
In the fourth quarter the Pirates slowed the pace and worked through their man-to-man offense taking time off the clock. Virgin Valley bombed away with three-pointers making two in the final quarter which was all the points they would have.
What finally won this game was Moapa Valley’s free throws. With 2:30 to play Cox hit two free throws. Then a minute later Jay Mortensen made the first of 1 and 1 and missed the second with 1:26 to play.
After a Virgin Valley basket closed the Pirate lead to 40-38, Mortensen went back to the line for another 1 and 1 which turned into a one and done when he missed the first shot.
Virgin Valley turned the ball over, then fouled Derek Cope who made both of his shots to give the Pirates a 42-38 lead with 16 seconds left in the game. The five free throws were the only points the Pirates scored in the fourth quarter.
In the final seconds with a slim chance, Virgin Valley inbounded the ball to Hogan Fowles who passed it back to no one where the ball bounced twice slowly out of bounds ending any chance for a Bulldog win.
Jarrett Tietjen led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points. The Bulldogs were 12-18 from the free throw line and made four three-pointers in the game. The Pirates were led by Nate Cox with 15 points. Coby Frei added 9. Moapa Valley was 9-13 from the free throw line and scored two three pointers for the night.
Earlier in the week the Pirates travelled to Chaparral where they were blown out 68-29. It wasn’t close even from the beginning. The Cowboys took a 21-11 lead and pushed it to 39-14 by half time. The Pirates scored just 3 points in the second quarter.
The Pirates will host Boulder City Tuesday night then travel to Del Sol on Thursday. The Pirates are 3-7 in league play.
