Hornets holding off Muckers for last 1A Central playoff spot

The Beatty High School boys basketball team is hanging on for dear life to the fourth and final playoff spot in the 1A Central League as the regular season comes to a close this week.

They hold a record of 6-11 overall and 3-5 in league play.

On Thursday, Beatty traveled to Round Mountain for a matchup with the Knights. The Hornets won the first game between these two teams back in January by a score of 52-47.

The Knights sit just half a game ahead of the Hornets in third place of the central standings with a record of 12-7 overall and 4-5 in league play.

If Beatty can come away with another win against the Knights, they’ll be locked into a playoff spot for next week’s Nevada 1A basketball playoffs.

However, if the Hornets aren’t able to get a win on the road, their season will come down to Friday night’s matchup against the Tonopah Muckers.

You can check the outcome of Thursday’s game by going to maxpreps.com.

Friday’s game against the Muckers will be a home game that is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tipoff.

The Muckers got a 45-32 win in the first matchup between these two teams in Tonopah earlier this season.

Senior point guard Effrain Moreno is the leader for the Hornets this season. He has had multiple games this season with 15 or more points.

As the standings go right now, the Hornets would get the No. 4 seed and open up the 1A Central tournament next Friday, Feb. 17, against the top-seeded team.

Currently, Mineral County is sitting atop the 1A Central league. However, they still have two league games to play over the next couple of days.

The Serpents are set to host the Pahranagat Valley Panthers on Friday, Feb. 10, and the Lund Leopards on Saturday, Feb. 11, to finish off their season.

If Mineral County defeats the Panthers, they will clinch the No. 1 seed. However, if the Panthers can pull off the upset on Friday, then the winner of Saturday’s game will be the top seed and the loser will drop to the No. 2 seed.

The 1A Central league tournament will be played at Tonopah High School. The first round will take place on Friday, Feb. 17 and the championship game will be played at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.

The two teams that make it to the championship game will be guaranteed a spot in the Nevada 1A state tournament at the end of the month.

Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.