By Vern Hee

Pahrump basketball teams were idle until the end of last week, due to finals week at the high school.

The boys team went into action on last Thursday evening against division three team, Mountain View Christian School Saints out of Las Vegas. The Trojans came away with a win, 57-41.

The victory was a non-league game. The Trojans are now 5-14 overall and 1-3 in league.

Pahrump took a 19-12 lead at halftime into the locker room and never looked back.

In league, the Trojans had been struggling with pressure and the Saints gave them this look.

Brian Hayes, head Trojans coach, felt the game gave his team some confidence going into their league game against Faith, which was an away game last Tuesday night and too late to report.

“Honestly, they aren’t near the competition we face in our league opponents. Although we still turned the ball over a little too much, we rebounded well and made shots. They threw a press at us in the third quarter, and we still struggled a bit with nine turnovers in the quarter. It was good for us to see a press, and hopefully the kids learned a little bit on where to attack,” said coach.

Hayes’ squad has had the problem with the press particularly against Cheyenne and Mojave. He is hoping his team gets it together against Faith Lutheran. To win on Tuesday, he said his team has to take care of the ball.

“As for Faith, they are a fundamentally sound team, which makes few mistakes and relies on their post players. Our recipe for success is the same as it is for every game. We must take care of the basketball, defend the basket, rebound, win or limit the transition game, make shots, and make our free throws. It’s not a magic formula, just a simple recipe based on fundamental principles of basketball. If our kids execute our game goals, we will be in a position to win the game and come closer to reaching our team goal,” remarked Hayes.

Trojans lose to Beatty

The Lady Trojans traveled up to Beatty for a third meeting this year with the Hornets. The game was a non-league game. The Trojans took two games from the Hornets earlier this year and lost this last one badly, 41-20.

Jennifer Hagstrom, head Trojans coach, said her team got into a hole.

“Beatty beat us pretty handily. We shot poorly, and yes, we tried to go inside to no avail. Their number 10, Melynda Gross, was the best player on the floor, and we dug ourselves an early hole and just couldn’t get out,” said Hagstrom.

Aimee Senior, head Beatty coach, was very pleased with the way her team put it together last Friday against the Trojans.

“The ladies played really well against Pahrump. They had their minds made up that they wanted to play ball Friday night. This shows that when this team makes up their mind to play ball, they play ball. They had more turnovers, but they were playing so well and hustling so hard that they got a little tired, so the turnovers will come with that. Melynda, Shankara, & Ginny all had three assists, which shows they were playing as a team which is what led them on to the win that they got,” said Senior.

Hagstrom feels her team needs to regroup quickly. She feels the Faith Lutheran will be hard to beat. Girls played Faith Tuesday night.

“Faith is fairly big, they move the ball well and play unselfish basketball. We need to shake off last Friday night and come ready to play tomorrow against their size. That means boxing out and being aggressive on offense,” said coach.

Hagstrom’s squad is winless in league play and hopes to get their first “W” against Faith Lutheran on Tuesday night.

The Faith game will end the first half of play for both Trojans teams and start a tough three-game road trip where the Trojans start with Faith, then play Clark on Thursday evening and Cheyenne next week Wednesday.

Other Beatty Games

The Beatty girls went on to play Round Mountain and won this important league game, 55-17.

The Lady Hornets improve to 1-1 in league play.

Senior said Nicole Zamora has been out with an injured knee, and hopefully she’ll be back this week. Senior feels the shooting still needs to improve despite the win.

“Turnovers were much better this game and they had a lot of steals which shows their anticipation and aggressive defense. I’ve mentioned in the past that they need to work on their short shots under the basket and the use of the backboard. Well, we kept track of the shots that they took without using the backboard and 20 shots were taken that didn’t touch the backboard or any part of the basket. So, if they would use the backboard, imagine how their shooting percentages would improve, just a thought,” said Senior.

Senior’s team remains in the running for a playoff bid. Tonopah and Pahranagat Valley remain undefeated in league play.

The Hornets play Tonopah on Friday at home and Beaver Dam away on Saturday.

Beatty boys beat the Trojans junior varsity but fell to Round Mountain on Saturday, 51-33.

Q. Cotton- 12 points 3 rebounds 2 assist, 2 steals

B. Palmore- 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

DJ Montgomery- 7 points, 4 rebounds

B. Hastings- 10 points, 11 rebounds

J. Broadhead- 10 points, 4 rebounds

D. Brown- 5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists

A. Brand- 6 points, 6 rebounds

Pahrump Valley 57, Mountain View 41.

MOUNTAIN VIEW: Kissinger 22, Jenkins 7, Gray 4, Van Kempen 4, Bennett 2, Wallace 2. Totals 13 9-20 41

PAHRUMP VALLEY: Q. Cotton 12, Hastings 10, Broadhead 10, D.. Montgomery 7, Brand 6, Brown 5, Palmore 4, Beighley 3. Totals 21 9-17 57

Mountain View 7 12 7 15 -41

Pahrump Valley 15 19 10 13 -57

Beatty girls stats

Melynda scored 16, Shankara 6, Lucero 10, Ginny 5, Christina 4. Rebounds were Melynda 13, Shankara 4, Lucero 10.