3A Basketball Preview (November 29, 2017)

By DAVE BELCHER

Moapa Valley Progress

Boys Basketball
Southern 3A – Sunrise
Boulder City
The Eagles finished 10-16 overall last season and 3-7 in league play. They finished in fifth place in the Sunrise Division.
They return seven players. Four of the returning players were starters giving the Eagles a lot of experience. Returning is guard Karson Bailey, a junior, their leading scorer averaging 12 points a game. Guard Carson Balistere, a senior, also returns as the second leading scorer with 11 points a game average. Guard, Tanner Montgomery, a senior, averaged 5 points a game. Guard, Billy Ference, also a senior, added 3 points a game.

Chaparral
The Cowboys were the Sunrise champions last year with a perfect 10-0 record in league play, 22-7 overall.
They beat Sunrise Mountain in the first round of the playoffs 58-40; then were eliminated by Desert Pines in the second round, 74-59.
The Cowboys lost eight players to graduation. They return just one starter: Johnathan Tendal coming back for his senior season. Tendal averaged 14 points a game last year.

Del Sol
The Dragons finished in third place in the Sunrise with a 6-4 league record and a 14-12 overall record.
They return six players from last years team. Two are returning starters. Guard Keith Seldon returns with his 7 points a game and 4 rebounds. He will have Anton Villarta at the other guard spotwho averaged 5 points a game.
In the first round of the playoffs the Dragons were beaten by Desert Pines 79-48.

SECTA
The Roadrunners finished with a 3-7 record and beat Boulder City in the tiebreakers to finish as the fourth seed in the Sunrise; making the playoffs and a first round match-up against Cheyenne the top seed from the Sunset.
They lost five from last years team but return their leading scorer. Jurelle Orbino who averaged 13 points a game last year.

Sky Pointe
This is Sky Pointe’s second year playing basketball. Because they are a charter school they are forced by the state to play up a league and will join the Sunrise 3A this year.
They will return six players from last season with all five starters returning.

Virgin Valley
The Bulldogs will bring in Marcus Barnum as the new head coach. Sean Fitzsimons moved back to his hometown and became the head coach of the Lincoln County Lynx in Panaca.
The Bulldogs also lost eight players to graduation. They return Jayden Perkins as their leading scorer. He averaged 7 points a game last year.
The Bulldogs finished in second place in the Sunrise with a 7-3 record in league play. They finished with a 20 win season with a record of 21-9.
The Bulldogs were beaten in the second playoff round by Cheyenne, 74-46, to end their season.

Southern 3A – Sunset
Cheyenne
Last year Cheyenne was the big surprise team. They finished the regular season with a 19-7 overall record and an undefeated 10-0 league record with two regular season wins over Desert Pines.
In the first round of the regional playoffs they beat Virgin Valley 74-46 and looked to be on the inside track for a state championship. But in the championship game of the regional tournament Desert Pines blew the Desert Storm off the floor with a 63-35 win. In the state semi-finals of the state tournament they played the northern champion Elko and won, 53-47. In the state championship game, Desert Pines beat Cheyenne again 69-46.

Desert Pines
The Jaguars finished last season as the 3A state champions. They have lost eleven from last years championship team.

Mojave
The Rattlers finished in fifth place in the Sunset with a 2-8 league record and 4-22 overall.
They return seven from last years team including all five starters. These include forward, John Harper. a senior; guard, Chris Jackson, a junior; guard, Tyrice Pender, a senior; and forward, Isaiah Harper, a junior.

Pahrump Valley
The Trojans struggled last year as they finished at the bottom of the Sunset pile with a 1-9 league record and 7-20 overall.

Sunrise Mountain
Last year the Miners finished in fourth place in the Sunset with a 4-6 league record and 10-14 overall. They return two from last year’s team and both were starters. Steven Adeyemi returns averaging 15 point and seven rebounds per game. Anthony Proby averaged 5 points and 3 assists per game.

Western
The Warriors were the third place team in the Sunset last year. Their season ended when they were beaten by Virgin Valley 57-53 in the first round of the southern regional tournament. The Warriors lost 10 to graduation and return a young team, this year.

Northern 3A
Fallon
The Greenwave finished as the fifth place team in the northern region. They finished with a 10-6 league record, 13-11 overall. Last year they upset Spring Creek in the first round of the regional tournament 42-36 then lost to regional champion Elko 66-49.

Dayton
The Dust Devils finished in seventh place in the north with a record of 6-10 and 1-16 overall. They were beaten in the first round of the regional tournament by Fernley 65-44 to end their season.

Elko
The Indians were the league champions last year with a 15-1 record in league play. They finished with a 25-3 record overall. Their only league loss came to Fernley in early in the season at Fernley, 42-39. They went unbeaten the rest of the season until a loss in the first round of the state tournament to Cheyenne 53-47.
The Indians will field a strong team this year led by junior Alex Klekas.

Fernley
Fernley last year finished the season as the second seed from the north and a loss to Desert Pines in the state semi-finals, 49-35.
They have lost six seniors from last years team. But they will return leading scorer Zach Burns who averaged 18 points a game.

Lowry
The Buckaroos had a down year last year. They were 6-10 in league play and 8-18 overall. They finished with two wins in the regular season but it was not enough to qualify for the post season.

South Tahoe
The Vikings finished with a 13-3 league record in second place. But they were upset by Fernley in the first round of the regional playoffs eliminating them from further post-season play. They lost nine to graduation and will have to rebuild.

Sparks
The Railroaders finished in last place last year with a 1-15 league record and were 2-23 overall.
Truckee
The Wolverines finished in eighth place with a 2-14 league record and were 3-17 overall.
Gabe Cruz, who is a senior, led the team with 10 points a game. He will team up with Isaac Cruz, a sophomore this year, who scored seven points a game last year.

Girls Basketball
Southern 3A – Sunrise
Boulder City
The Eagles were the third place team in the Sunrise with a 6-4 record in league play, 10-15 overall. But they were beaten by Desert Pines in the first round of the regional playoffs 31-25.

Chaparral
The Cowboys finished last season with a league record of 2-8 and 3-14 overall. They lost five players from last year.

Del Sol
The Dragons were the worse team in the Sunrise last season, finishing with a record of 0-10 in league play and 2-19 overall. The Dragons return with everyone but three returning this year.

SECTA
The Roadrunners finished as the fourth seed from the Sunrise with a 4-6 league record, 8-17 overall. They will return four from last year including three starters. Tayler Muwwakkil, a junior, returns with her 14 points a game.

Sky Pointe
The Eagles return seven from last year and all five starters. This is their first year in the 3A.

Virgin Valley
The Bulldogs finished with an undefeated league season 10-0. They won the regular season title but were beaten by the Pirates in the regional final 47-33 and became the second seed from the south. They lost to Fallon, 52-40, in the first round of state tournament.
The Bulldogs have lost four players from last year and return six with two starters. Natalie Lagamayo, a sophomore, returns with Savanah Price as the two players who saw time. Lagamayo scored 5 points a game as a freshman and Price averaged 4 points per game as a junior.

Southern 3A – Sunset
Cheyenne
The Desert Shields finished as the Sunset league champions with a 10-0 record, 18-7 overall. They have a new coach this year and a new start as they have no one returning from last years team.
They do have a transfer who saw action last year in Almond Slayton. She is 6’1” and comes from Valley High School.

Desert Pines
The Jaguars were the second seed from the Sunset with a league record of 8-2, 15-14 record overall. They lose only two from last year.

Mojave
The Rattlers finished last season with a league record of 2-8 and 10-16 overall. They finished fifth in the Sunset, just out of the playoffs.

Pahrump Valley
The Trojans were 5-5 in league play last year and finished in third place where they were beaten in the first round of the regional playoffs to the Pirates 42-24 to end their season. They lost nine of twelve players from last year.

Sunrise Mountain
The Miners were winless last year finishing at the bottom of the Sunset at 0-10, 0-17 overall. They have nowhere to go but up.

Western
The Warriors finished fourth in the Sunset with a 5-5 record in league play. They were beaten by Virgin Valley in the first round of the regional tournament 51-26.

Northern 3A
Fallon
The Greenwave is the defending state champion. They beat Lowry for the title 54-38, after beating Virgin Valley 52-40 in the state semi-finals.
They are the favorite to win it again. They only lost one player to graduation last year.

Dayton
The Dust Devils finished with a 2-14 league record and an eighth place finish, 2-23 overall. Their two leading scorers from last year return: Elora Neep at nine points a game and Abby Sikora at seven points a game.

Elko
The Indians finished third in the north with a league record of 12-4, overall record of 15-7. They were beaten by Lowry in the regional semi-final 55-40.

Fernley
The Vaqueros were 9-7 in league play and in fourth place. They finished 12-14 overall. They lost to Spring Creek in the first round of the regionals 30-28.
They will return their two leading scorers: Hailee Edgar, at 9 points a game, and Emily Wright, at eight points a game.

Lowry
The Buckaroos were the second place team from the north last year and the state runner-up. They beat Moapa Valley in the state semi-finals, 61-42, then lost to Fallon 54-38 in the final. They have lost all but three players from last years team.

South Tahoe
The Vikings finished in sixth place with a league record of 7-9, 10-16 overall record. They were eliminated by Elko in the first round of the regional tournament. They have lost six to graduation.

Sparks
The Railroaders were winless last year with a record of 0-16 in both league play and overall.

Spring Creek
The Spartans were the fifth seed in the northern region with a league record of 8-8, 10-18 overall. They beat Fernley in the first round of the regional tournament, then were eliminated by Fallon in the second round, 61-30.

Truckee
The Wolverines finished seventh in the north with a league record of 4-12. They did not make the regional tournament. They were 7-17 overall.
They have lost six to graduation and return leading scorer Isabella Abarno who averaged seven points a game.