One of the most talented group of senior boys donned their high school basketball uniforms for one final time Tuesday night.
The West squad made a clean sweep Tuesday to defeat the East boys 61-56 at Churchill County High School's Elmo Dericco Gym in the fifth annual Fallon Optimist All-Star Basketball Classic.
"It's one last time in that high school uniform," said Scott Meihack, a member of the Optimist Club and an elementary principal in Fallon. "We had some great athletes here tonight."
The West squad rode the strength of its balanced scoring and seven 3-pointers to stop the East for the win.
The East made a valiant run in the final quarter to cut a huge West lead, though.
Early in the quarter the West led by as many as 10 points but near the end of the game, the East's Andrew Jones of Reed scored five points.
Kyle Penny, who recently became McQueen's head varsity boys' coach, said turnovers hurt his team more than anything else. He also said the long ball stopped the East's momentum.
"They had good 3-point shooting," Penny said.
But West coach Kyle Cerfoglio of North Valleys was more than happy with a win.
"These guys make you look good," Cerfoglio said with a smile.
Cerfoglio's team, though, may have had a slight edge. He had an open gym for many of his players last week.
One of the Northern 4A's best players, Derek Lorenzen of Galena, said the season is always so competitive, but he enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and his coach's approach.
"Coach said to cherry pick," Lorenzen explained.
The East grabbed a small lead in the first quarter behind Danny Hopper's 3-pointer and Trent Wood's layup. Both players are from Dayton.
Wood led all scores on the East team with 10 points, and Hopper added four.
Tabarrai Hamilton kept the West in the game on both ends of the court. He scored all nine of his points in the first half and pulled down several critical rebounds to give the West a 31-24 halftime lead.
Silver Springs' Wyly Sandidge, a big 6-5 center, showed he could compete with the large school players as he recorded three blocked shots in the second quarter.
Jones had a thunderous dunk as time expired.
The East trailed by seven points, but Wood made three straight baskets to cut the led to within one point.
The West then surged ahead on an 11-point run.
Other locals in the game included Douglas High's Eric Emm, who scored six points and Yerington's Dylan Johnson who had three points.
