The Coleville boys' basketball team dropped a tough contest to Virginia City, 73-48 Friday, but kept its playoff hopes alive with a 53-29 win over Sierra Lutheran Saturday.
Against Virginia City, Coleville got 31 points, including five 3-pointers, from Jacob Erickson. Jed Chessani added 10 points and two 3-pointers for the Wolves.
Against Sierra Lutheran, Erickson had 19 points and Brandon Carlson scored 17 points.
On Monday, the Wolves picked up a 72-41 victory against Excel Christian, getting 24 points and four 3-pointers from Jacob Erickson and 15 points from Diego Tovar.
Junior Chris Cruz scored 12 points in the win.
Coleville ran into a wall against Smith Valley earlier in the week, losing 68-48.
David Bozsik scored 16 points and Taylor Reed added 15 points to lead Smith Valley.
Erickson scored 26 points and Chessani scored 11 to lead Coleville.
COLEVILLE GIRLS
The Lady Wolves lost their first league game of the season at Smith Valley, 53-40.
Jolene Sam and Breezy Rupp led Coleville offensively with 10 points each. Amara Rowley and Kimberly Torley added seven points each. Rupp led the rebounding effort with 16 boards and Dani Peters was tops in assists with seven.
Coleville regrouped Friday night with a win against Virginia City. Although still struggling from the field, Coleville used an outstanding effort to squeeze out a critical 34-22 victory.
Coleville held the Lady Muckers to only 14 percent from the field and forced 33 turnovers.
Sam led the Lady Wolves with 13 points, four assists and five steals.
Rupp once again led the rebounding effort with 13. Torley scored six points off the bench and although Rowley was held to just five points, she played a terrific defensive game and led both teams with six steals.
Coleville continued to gain momentum with a 53-18 win at Sierra Lutheran Saturday.
Rowley led the way with 13 points and 11 steals. Sam added 10 points and led the team with six assists. Rupp and Torley added eight points each in a balanced scoring effort. Brittany Tunstall came off the bench to score four points and grab three rebounds.
Kassie Pemberton also made a solid contribution with three assists and two points.
The Lady Wolves end the week in a first-place tie with Pyramid Lake at 7-1. League play continues with a home game Friday night against Gerlach and a very tough rematch at Pyramid Lake Saturday.
SIERRA LUTHERAN BOYS
As expected, Sierra Lutheran High boys' basketball team is struggling through its first full season of varsity basketball.
More often than not, teams from the powerful Class 1A West League are among the top basketball teams in the state at the small school level, and that's the conference where Falcons are learning to spread their wings.
With only four games remaining on the schedule, Sierra Lutheran's record stands at 3-10 and 1-6 in the league.
Four freshmen and three sophomores are being asked to play at the varsity level due to the loss of several key upperclassmen.
"I'm pleased with their progress," coach Norm Brauer said. "The guys are eager to learn, passionate about the game and willing to work hard to improve."
Cameron Hart, the lone senior on the team, leads the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding.
"He's been a terrific leader for the younger players," Brauer said.
Juniors Nathan Bender, the team's second leading scorer, and Brian Agresti, a defensive specialist, also draw compliments from Brauer for their leadership.
The Falcons junior varsity team is also making excellent progress and has managed wins over Virginia City and Coleville in recent weeks.
Sophomore Stephen Deterding provides leadership, Aaron and Brian Bender are the primary ballhandlers and Andrew Zaninovich and Bob DePaoli are the top rebounders. Rounding out the junior varsity team are Jonah Young, Josh Bankofier, Harprit Bath, Ryan Jackson, Evan Darby and Chris Toll.
With 15 of the 16 players returning and 13 of them having at least two more years of eligibility, the Falcons are laying the foundation for future success while enjoying the current challenges of competition.
