Trojans struggle in nail-biting 4th quarter against Chaparral

It was all up to No. 14 Daxton Palmisano from the Pahrump Valley boys basketball team with less than 10 seconds on the clock to score a three-pointer to get the Trojans into overtime in a hard-fought game on Wednesday.

The Trojans struggled to keep up with the Chaparral Cowboys (8-15) in the first half, as in the first quarter Aleric Cooper (No. 3) attempted two three-pointers and missed both. Cooper was finally able to add to the Trojans’ score by scoring a two-pointer with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Chaparral would show Cooper they were able to sink their three-point attempts by adding three 3-pointers to the scoreboard. The score was 13-6 with the Cowboys in the lead.

In the second quarter it was clear Pahrump struggled to communicate with each other on the court as players would miss passes and the ball would go into the hands of the Cowboys. With possession of the ball the Trojans would struggle to execute any play as the team would pass the ball without being able to shoot. Chaparral shot and sank a three-pointer as the buzzer ended the second quarter.

Pahrump was only able to add four points to the score, closing the end of the first half with 26-10.

In the start of the second half the Trojans had more success but also allowed Chaparral to rebound the ball and score. At the 5-minute mark, Palmisano attempted a two-pointer where the Cowboys quickly rebounded the ball and they scored the two-pointer. As Ryder Cordova (No. 11) attempted to dribble the ball to the other side, he lost the ball and the Cowboys made a three-pointer.

But toward the end of the third quarter, Pahrump got a groove together where they were able to outshoot Chaparral by one point and the quarter ended at 37-22.

Cooper finally sank his first three-pointer at the top of the fourth quarter after Garrett Oakley (No. 20) picked up two points. And to keep the momentum going, Palmisano also scored a three-pointer, which got the crowd roaring within the first two minutes of the quarter, bringing the score to 37-33.

Chaparral was starting to further their lead and a timeout was called at the 4-minute mark.

When they came back from the timeout, Cooper made his free throws and Dylan Avena (No. 12) scored a three-pointer. Cordova then scored a three-pointer with 2:30 on the clock as Pahrump Valley began to close the gap. Cordova later passed the ball to Palmisano in another play and he scored another three-pointer at the one-minute mark with a score of 46-45. Another timeout was called.

“Trojans, Trojans, Trojans,” the crowd cheered.

Pahrump Valley would rack up a foul that gave Chaparral two free-throw points and three more points to get up to 50 points. The Trojans also made two free throws which got them to 47 points.

With less than 8 seconds left on the clock, Palmisano was given the ball for a three-point attempt where he was unsuccessful and the Trojans lost 50-47.

The Trojans next game is on Feb. 5 against the Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon in Henderson at 6:30 p.m. The last time they played, the Trojans won 59-57.