By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
It was an emotional week last week for Moapa Valley High School Basketball. The Pirates hosted two games including a visit from Virgin Valley, the first league game of the season.
This year the Bulldogs are in a rebuilding season. They are coming off a 2016 season where they had won twenty games and finished second in the Sunrise. Now Virgin Valley is, to say the least, struggling.
The Dogs came into last week with a 0-2 league record having lost to both Del Sol and SECTA in blowouts. They had only two regular season wins before the trip to Moapa Valley.
On the other hand, Moapa Valley had but one win on the year and was now playing their first league game against the Bulldogs. On Tuesday night, Moapa Valley suited up only seven players.
It didn’t take long for the Pirates to take the lead and they never trailed in the game. Moapa Valley held a 14-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. They then exploded for a 21-10 run in the second quarter to create a 35-16 lead by halftime.
Comfortable with that lead, the Pirates coasted in the third quarter allowing the Bulldogs to score 15 points and cut their lead to nine points.
Still, the Bulldogs struggled to contain Nathaniel Thompson who would hit a jumper then drive the lane for layup after layup. Thompson would finish the game with 24 points. Josh Cox replaced an injured Derek Reese and scored 9 points for the Pirates.
The third quarter was exciting as both teams kept pace. Moapa Valley scored 15 points in the quarter while Virgin Valley scored 13 in the 55-44 Moapa Valley win.
Will Barnum, a freshman for the Bulldogs, scored 13 points to lead the team. Jayden Perkins added 12.
Moapa Valley shot 28 free throws in the game making 17 of them for 62%. Virgin Valley shot 13 making 9.
Moapa Valley then hosted Sunrise Mountain on Thursday nigh. They played what was their best game of the year, but lost to the Miners 75-70.
The Pirates built a small three-point lead in the first quarter at 15-12. The Miners came back with a 18-10 run in the second quarter for a five-point 30-25 lead at halftime.
The pace was fast in the third quarter with 46 points scored together by both teams. The Miners built a 55-44 lead by the end of the quarter.
Moapa Valley used a 26-20 fourth quarter to cut the lead. But the Miners scored 20 of their own to preserve the win.
Thompson had another outstanding game as he scored 29 points for the Pirates. He was followed by freshman Lucas Walker who scored 18.
Tyree Hayes scored 21 for the Miners while Xavier Kyles scored 17, Steven Adeyemi added 15 and D Brown scored 10.
Moapa Valley will play one game on Friday after finals are finished. It will be a league game at home against Chaparral.
