1A BOYS: Edwards’ big effort keys Spring Mountain in semifinal win

As it was, Edwards was good enough to propel Spring Mountain’s boys basketball team into the Class 1A state title game.

Edwards finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and came up with a key steal in the final 20 seconds of the game as the Eagles earned a 70-69 win over Owyhee in a semifinal at UNR’s Lawlor Events Center.

“This is probably his best game of the season,” Spring Mountain coach Ed Cheltenham said. “He saved the best for the last. He played defense; he played offense; he carried us in the first half. And then his defense is what brought us back in the second half and enabled us to hold onto that win.”

Edwards was fouled with 14.3 seconds to play with his team leading 70-69. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, but came up with a steal near midcourt to help seal the win.

He was fouled again and missed both free throws with 4.8 seconds, but Skylon McKinney’s halfcourt heave went off the glass at the buzzer, and the Eagles escaped with the win.

The Eagles (24-6) face Pahranagat Valley (19-9) in the title game at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Lawlor. Spring Mountain will go for its first state basketball title.

“It’s never happened in the history of this school,” Cheltenham said of making the final. “This is a major, major event for us. It’s the greatest feeling ever.”

Owyhee (16-11) led 55-46 after a bucket by Ronald Burton with about two minutes to play in the third quarter.

But the Eagles closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to pull within four. They finally took the lead for good on a 15-footer by Marqion White that made it 70-68 with 1:25 to play.

White finished with 17 points, and Roemello Brandon had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.

Brandon, the Eagles’ standout post player, was saddled with foul trouble, and never really got into the flow of the game.

Cheltenham said he wasn’t worried about his players being too excited about the win to focus on the title game.

“I don’t even know if I want to calm them down,” Cheltenham said. “I want to keep them up. We’ve never been here before, so I don’t even know what I’m going to say to them.”

McKinney led Owyhee with 24 points.

Pahranagat Valley 67, McDermitt 51 — The Panthers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to pull away from the Bulldogs (22-7).

Pahranagat Valley went inside more in the fourth quarter, and Kade Wadsworth and Derek Hanson responded by combining for 18 points and nine rebounds in the final eight minutes.

“We felt like we had some matchups going into the fourth quarter,” Pahranagat coach Brian Higbee said. “They had a little bit of foul trouble and were a little hesitant, so we tried to go inside.”

Hansen scored 12 of his 14 points in the quarter, and Wadsworth had six points and seven rebounds.

All five Pahranagat Valley starters scored in double figures, led by Hansen. Chase Hansen and Tyler Higbee each added 12 points, Wadsworth scored 11 and Austin Poulsen had 10 points.

“We got up and down the floor and pushed tempo and kept the tempo where we wanted it,” Brian Higbee said. “That was the difference in the fourth quarter. I think we wore them down.”

Pahranagat Valley led 41-38 going into the final period, but shot 8-for-11 from the field to pull away.
Wadsworth had 14 rebounds, Poulsen supplied nine rebounds, and Tyler Higbee grabbed eight boards for the Panthers.

The win set up a third meeting with Spring Mountain. Pahranagat Valley won the regular-season game 45-44, but the Eagles won the 1A Southern League tournament title with a 49-47 victory.

“It’s the third shot at Spring Mountain,” Higbee said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s a good matchup. We’re pretty evenly matched. They’ve got some size and some athletes, but we feel like we can compete with them.”