By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
The Nevada State High School basketball season ended last weekend with a not-so-exciting championship game. In fact, neither 3A championship game was very exciting.
3A State Girls
Last year, Fallon was removed from the state championship by Lowry who beat them in the regional championship game. Fallon was undefeated at the time of the title game and took the Buckaroos lightly.
Lowry on the other hand played their best game of the year and ended victorious at the tournament. Lowry pulled off the upset and became the 1# seed from the north.
This forced Fallon into a first round game with state tournament favorite Spring Valley who went on to blow the Green Wave out ending their season with two consecutive losses.
All of that fresh on the minds of the young Fallon players, all sophomores, as they entered this season. They had a chip on their shoulder and dared anyone to knock it off. No one in the northern 3A could do it.
So this year Fallon entered the state tournament as the #1 seed from the north, avenging their loss from last year with a blowout win over Lowry.
In the first game of this year’s state tournament, played in the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus, Fallon played Virgin Valley. The Bulldogs were undefeated in the southern 3A this year but were beaten by Moapa Valley in the southern 3A tournament. The Bulldogs were thus forced into the second seed from the south.
Fallon would beat the Bulldogs with a dominating performance taking a 17-11 lead by the start of the first quarter. They extended the lead to 29-18 by halftime.
The Fallon lead was 16 by the start of the fourth quarter and finished with a 52-40 win.
Bernice Fiso was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 15 points. Fallon had three girls in double figures and moved on to the championship game against rival Lowry who had beaten the Pirates.
In that, title game Fallon did not waste much time building a lead. Fallon ran out to a 15-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. They continued to score putting 16 on the Buckaroos in the second quarter for a 31-21 halftime lead. Fallon then put Lowry away in the third by adding ten points with 15 more points on a 15-5 run then held on for a 54-38 win.
3A State Boys
Elko had their chance to capture their first championship and looked as if they were ready to do just that. But Cheyenne came in-between and handed the Indians a 53-47 loss sending the tribe back to Elko empty handed again.
Cheyenne led most of the game and built a 12-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Earlier in the season, Elko had travelled to Vegas and played Cheyenne. The team had come away with a twenty point 46-26 win. This possibly had giving the Indians a false sense of security for the rematch in the state tournament.
The Indians did shave off the Cheyenne lead down to one point by halftime at 21-20.
But Elko fell back in the third as Cheyenne rallied and increased the lead by five points with an 18-13 run. Elko could close the gap and lost their chance.
Eric Klekas scored 17 points to lead Elko while Kyrin added 14. Kavon Williams scored 19 points for Cheyenne followed by Ke’Shawn Hall and his 14 points.
On the other side of the bracket, Fernley tried to hand Desert Pines a loss in the semi-finals but came up short, 35-49. Fernley stayed close in this one, as both teams were only able to score five points each in the first quarter for a tie. In the second quarter, each team continued to struggle scoring with Desert Pines building just a three point, 15-12, lead by halftime.
The Jaguars upped the score by five more in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter DP outscored Fernley 22-16 for the win.
Zach Burns scored 12 points to lead Fernley while Treyvon Abdullah-Booker scored 19 to lead everyone and send Desert Pines to the title game.
Desert Pines did not trail for a second in the championship game. They beat Cheyenne good with a 69-46 win. It was the Jaguars’ second state championship in five years.
The score was 15-7 after the first and 29-14 by halftime.
Kavon William scored 21 for Cheyenne in a losing cause with Hall adding 14.
Desert Pines was led by Capri Uzan and his 24 points followed by Booker who added 18 and Derick Coleman adding 11, Jalen Graves scored 10 giving the Jaguars their second state title of the year.
The other championship games ended as follows:
BOYS:
Bishop Gorman beat Clark in the 4A game, 62-58.
Agassi Prep beat Adelson 60-43 in the 2A Championship game.
Mineral County beat Alamo in the 1A game 63-46 all on the boy’s side.
GIRLS:
Centennial clobbered Bishop Manogue 97-52 in the 4A final.
Needles California beat Agassi Prep 64-54 in the 2A.
Owyhee beat Round Mountain in the 1A game 65-37.
