Trojans go even at Bullhead City tournament

The Pahrump Valley boys basketball team headed down to Arizona this week as they played in the Holiday Shootout in Bullhead City.

The Trojans have hit a bit of a slump recently, losing three of their previous four games entering the tournament.

Pahrump Valley went into Arizona with a 3-5 record after dropping last Friday’s matchup against the Bonanza Bengals by a score of 66-47.

Senior guard Daxton Whittle led Pahrump Valley that night with 18 points and four rebounds. He shot 7-for-13 from the floor and made one of his three free throws.

Pahrump’s leading scorer, senior forward Aiden McClard, finished the night with just eight points, but he grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Trojans kicked off their tournament play with a matchup against the Lake Mead Academy Eagles of the 2A division on Tuesday evening.

The Eagles entered the tournament with an 8-1 record and already had two wins over 3A schools.

Pahrump Valley struggled on both ends of the ball.

Lake Mead came away from the game with a 79-39 thrashing of the Trojans. This was the biggest loss of the season for Pahrump Valley.

The Trojans had a doubleheader full of action on Wednesday, kicking off the day with a meeting against the Spring Mountain Eagles of the 1A division.

McClard and Whittle led Pahrump Valley, like they have so much this season.

McClard scored 14 points for the Trojans offense, while Whittle poured in 12 points of his own.

The Trojans were able to put an end to their two-game losing streak, coming away with a 43-38 victory.

Following the win earlier in the day, the second game on Wednesday didn’t go as head coach David Wilson and his team had hoped.

The Trojans faced off against the White Pine Bobcats for the second time this season. Their first matchup came in the season’s opening tournament where Pahrump Valley came away with the 50-28 victory.

The Bobcats had revenge on the mind.

Whittle followed up his performance from earlier with a 17-point effort against the Bobcats. Unfortunately, it was not enough as White Pine was able to sneak out a 1-point win, 37-36.

The Trojans closed out the tournament in a strong way.

They faced off against River Valley for their final game of the tournament Thursday morning.

McClard and Whittle combined to score 33 points for the Pahrump Valley offense. The Trojans also got help from Daxton Palmisano, who scored a season-high 14 points.

Pahrump came away with a 61-40 victory and finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.

The Trojans will take a 5-7 record into their holiday break. They will return to action on Monday, Jan. 9 in a non-league road matchup with the Mater Academy East Knights.

The Trojans will begin league play on Friday, Jan. 11 when they host the Pinecrest Cadence Cougars.

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