Trojans split games, stay undefeated in league play against Pinecrest Cadence

The Pahrump Valley high school boys basketball team stayed undefeated in league play with a win against Pinecrest Cadence on Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s game was the first ever matchup between these two schools.

Pahrump entered the game having lost their last two games in a row and the Cadence Cougars entered the game with a 1-10 overall record for the year. Their only win this year came in a non-league matchup against Equipo Academy back in December.

The Pinecrest Cadence basketball program is new to the Las Vegas Valley. They are in just their third year of operation. Because of COVID and having their 2020-21 season canceled, the Cougars are playing in just their second season ever.

In their inaugural season, Pinecrest Cadence finished with a 5-14 record.

With this being their first head-to-head matchup, Pahrump Valley wanted to come out and make a statement, which they achieved.

Pahrump won by a final score of 71-40. The Trojans were able to get out in front with a halftime score of 31-20. They held the Cougars to just 10 points in each of the first two quarters.

The Trojans were led on the offensive end by seniors Ewayne Brown and Robert Simms. Brown finished with a game-high 21 points for the Trojans, while Simms pitched in 15 points of his own to help out.

The biggest turn was in the third quarter when the Trojans held the Cougars to a game-low seven points, while having the best offensive quarter of the game with 24 points.

This blew the game wide open, leading to a score of 55-27 after the third quarter. This was too much for Cadence to overcome.

The following night, the Trojans traveled to Coral Academy to take on the Falcons in their final non-league game of the season.

Wednesday’s matchup between Coral Academy and Pahrump Valley was the first meeting between these two schools.

Unfortunately, this time the Trojans wouldn’t start off their head-to-head matchup the way they would have liked.

Seniors Brown and Simms led the way for the Trojans for the second game in a row. Brown finished with a team-high 25 points while Simms added 12 points for the Pahrump Valley offense.

The Trojans played the Falcons to a tough game, but the offense of Coral Academy was just too much to overcome. With their 65-57 loss, the Trojans are now looking at a record of 5-7 on the season.

The Trojans will be hitting the road again this Friday, Jan. 21, when they travel to SLAM Academy to take on the powerful Bulls. SLAM is entering the matchup with a 17-2 overall record for the season and are currently on a two-game winning streak. The last time these two teams met, the Trojans came away with a 78-71 victory during the 2017-18 season.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.