MINDEN, Nev. -- The Sierra Lutheran boys' basketball team has been enjoying a breakout season this year. Leading into last week, though, the Falcons were still looking for their first win over an elite Western 1A League team.
Consider that mission accomplished.
Sierra Lutheran held on for a 60-55 win at home against Pyramid Lake last Tuesday for its ninth win of the season.
"The kids were pretty excited," Sierra Lutheran coach Alan Reed said. "It was probably the biggest win in the history of the boys' program. We'd been telling them it was just a matter of time before they could finally get over the top, and we were glad they were able to do it at home."
Andrew Deterding led all scorers in the game with 18 points. Nick DePaoli had 16 points, including an 8-for-11 performance from the foul line, and Jonah Young had 10.
Ben Martin hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers late in the game and Bob DePaoli had three steals in the win.
Deterding led a strong effort under the glass with seven rebounds. Overall, Sierra Lutheran out-rebounded the Lakers 31-18.
"That was probably the key to the game," Reed said. "We outrebounded them. We had seven offensive rebounds.
"It was a close game, we were up by eight or nine at one point late in the game and then we let it get a little too close for comfort, but they held on."
Friday, the Falcons escaped with a 57-56 win over Excel Christian as sophomore David Zaninovich drove the lane and hit an eight-foot jump shot with three seconds left to clinch the win.
Bob DePaoli had 13 points and nine rebounds and Nick DePaoli had 11. Zaninovich had nine points, Levi Grabow had eight rebounds and five assists and Andrew Deterding had four steals.
Sierra Lutheran improved to 10-10 for the season. The Falcons host Gabbs Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season on the road Friday night against Virginia City.
COLEVILLE GIRLS
The Coleville Lady Wolves basketball team secured at least the fourth-place playoff seed in the 1A West League with a weekend split.
Friday night, Coleville took care of Gerlach 51-36.
Sophomore Linzy Garcia led the Lady Wolves in three categories with 11 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists in her best performance of the season.
Senior Kassie Pemberton also had an outstanding game with 10 points and eight steals.
Freshman Lela Gnuse-Stokes added seven points and seven rebounds in a solid performance. Skyler Isbell scored six points and Molly Garcia added five points in a balanced scoring effort.
The Lady Wolves were blown out 62-30 Saturday afternoon by the hosting Virginia City Muckers.
Although Coleville hung with Virginia City for two quarters, the first-place Lady Muckers blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Coleville 25-7.
Virginia City forced Coleville into 44 turnovers and limited the Lady Wolves to only 23 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Martha Robles led Coleville with six points before being forced from the game with an elbow injury early in the third quarter.
Linzy Garcia was Coleville's top rebounder with 10 boards.
Garcia and Isbell each had five points.
"Despite the large deficit in our loss Saturday to Virginia City, I was still very proud of our team because they continued to play hard until the very end," Coleville coach Will Sandy said. " We were able to give them a game for a while but their superior size and speed finally took its toll in the second half.
"We still have a chance to steal the third-place seed from Smith Valley when we finish the regular season there on Saturday. We can look forward to a very exciting weekend."
The Lady Wolves are 7-5 in league play and 11-10 overall. Coleville will say goodbye to its seniors when they host Excel Christian in the last home game of the season Friday is 6 p.m. Saturday's game at Smith Valley will begin at 4 p.m.
JV GIRLS
The Douglas High junior varsity girls' basketball team suffered only its second loss of the Sierra League season, falling 48-38 Friday night at Bishop Manogue.
Carly McCullough had 10 points, five steals and four rebounds in the loss while Alex Laing added eight points, five rebounds and four steals.
Natalie Freitas hauled in a team-leading 12 rebounds to go with nine points and three steals, Naomi Roberts had eight rebounds, Briana Rutherdale had six points and five rebounds, Jennifer Gorton, Megan King and Becca Trute each had three rebounds and Sophie Wilson and Cassidy Curtis each had one rebound.
