By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
The Virgin Valley Bulldogs travelled to Moapa Valley on Friday night, Jan. 11, for the first of two regular season league games against the Moapa Valley High School Boys Basketball team.
The Bulldogs were coming into the game with a winless 0-9 record. They had not played a game in almost a month, taking all of the Christmas break off.
The Pirates had played in a tournament the previous week and were looking for another win to continue a roll that will help take them to regionals.
The Dawgs started fast. They chalked up an 0-5 run to start the game. Moapa Valley struggled finding their stroke missing several shots to start the game including five consecutive 3-pointers.
Moapa Valley finally took control of the game, though, going on an eight point run to finish the first quarter with a 15-9 lead.
The Pirates started the second quarter with a press, causing Virgin Valley to turn the ball over and over throughout the quarter. This helped Moapa Valley in building their lead through the quarter.
Lucas Walker started the bombardment with his first of three 3-pointers. This was followed by layups as results of a three-quarter court press. The press yielded a lead of 16-points at one point and ended with a lead of 35-23 by halftime.
The Pirates would increase their lead in the third quarter by adding five points to the spread, and a score of 50-33.
The Pirates were led in scoring by Jessop Lake and Cameron Reese both scoring 12 points. Lucas Walker added 11 points. Nine of them came in the first half on three pointers.
The Bulldogs would make a small attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter outscoring the Pirates 13-10 in the quarter for the final score of 60-46.
Cameron Noel led Virgin Valley with 8-points. No Bulldogs scored in double figures.
The Pirates are 10-6 overall and start the league season 1-0. They host the Lincoln County Lynx on Saturday at 4:30 PM.
