Trojans drop to Pirates in midweek matchup

The Pahrump Valley boys basketball team returned to action on Wednesday night after a long layoff for the holidays.

This time, the Trojans had a midweek matchup on the road with the Pinecrest Sloan Canyon Pirates.

Pahrump came into the matchup with a 4-8 record following their performance at the Bullhead City Holiday Shootout tournament, while Sloan Canyon had just a 2-2 record for the season.

The boys got off to a good start, however, they weren’t able to hold up the momentum. After jumping out to a 7-2 lead to start the game, the Trojans quickly found themselves trailing 11-9 after the Pirates turned a couple of empty Pahrump possessions into 3-pointers on the other end.

Senior forward Aiden McClard led the Trojans with a double-double, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also had four steals and three blocks in the game.

McClard, along with fellow teammate Daxton Whittle, played the majority of the minutes against Sloan Canyon. When they did come out of the game, it was just for a minute or two to catch their breath before they were back in.

The two Trojans did everything they could to help keep their team within reach of the Pirates.

Whittle scored 11 points for the offense and grabbed four rebounds while dishing out two assists.

Pahrump Valley trailed by double-digits in the second half before they were able to cut the Sloan Canyon lead down to just five points late in the third quarter.

Drew Jensen joined in with a well-rounded night, finishing with four points, six rebounds and three assists for Pahrump Valley.

Unfortunately, the Trojans wouldn’t be able to make a strong enough push late in the game, ultimately dropping their matchup with the Pirates by a score of 64-51.

The Trojans will be back on the court this Friday when they host the Moapa Valley Pirates. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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