Muckers defeat Panthers in league opener
The Tonopah High School boys basketball team opened up league play on Friday night with a 45-36 win against the Pahranagat Valley Panthers.
The Muckers’ game against the Panthers was their first action on the court since mid-December when they defeated the Beatty Hornets in the Kody Beach Memorial tournament.
Senior guard Tony Bleasdell led the Muckers as he’s done all season. He leads the team with 14.2 points per game.
Bleasdell had 15 points for the Tonopah offense. Three of his five made shots in the game were from 3-point range.
Senior forward Josh Reid added in 11 points of his own.
Tonopah found themselves down by a point going into halftime, but thanks to a huge second half, the Muckers were able to come away with the big victory.
They held the Panthers to just five points in the third quarter to take control of the game.
On Saturday, Tonopah hosted the Lund Leopards for their second league game of the season.
The Muckers were able to jump out to a 10-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. However, Lund would be too much to handle for Tonopah.
The Panthers would go on to outscore the Muckers 43-21 over the final three quarters to win the game 50-31.
Bleasdell finished with 12 points for the Tonopah offense, while junior guard Cody Pippin ended his day with nine points.
Tonopah will be back on the court this Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s game will be a league matchup on the road with the Mineral County Serpents. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Following Friday’s game, the team will head to Virginia City for the battle of the Muckers. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.
