1A BOYS: Hosier carries Panther boys back to title game

With his team in trouble and the clock winding down Friday, Pahranagat Valley’s Cody Hosier knew he had to act fast or his prep career would come to an end.

The senior guard made sure his team would live to play another day, scoring 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and dishing the assist on the game-winning basket to lift the Panthers to a 53-51 victory over Smith Valley in the Class 1A state semifinals at Arbor View.

The win lifted the Panthers into Saturday’s championship game, where they will play Virginia City at 7:45 p.m. at the Orleans Arena.

“As the team captain, it’s my job to keep these guys motivated,” said Hosier, whose squad trailed throughout most of the second half. “I just took the responsibility because I knew the team needed to be revived.”

Pahranagat Valley, the 2010 1A state champion, appeared buried when Austin Sannebeck hit a layup to give the Bulldogs a 51-46 lead with 2:10 remaining.

But the Panthers chipped away and finally tied it at 51 after Hosier nabbed two steals and hit a pair of free throws with 38 seconds left.

Smith Valley’s Jordan Fletcher, who scored 26 points, finally missed one with 20 seconds to go, and Pahranagat Valley grabbed the rebound.

Hosier threaded a 10-foot bounce pass through traffic to teammate Derek Hansen, who hit a layup with 3 seconds left to put the Panthers ahead for good.

“I was told to go to the basket,” Hosier said. “But they collapsed on me, and I found Derek. It all happened so fast.”

Hansen, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, agreed.

“I was just standing there watching Cody go to the basket,” he said. “The next thing I knew, I had the ball and I knew I had to shoot it as fast as I could.”

Pahranagat Valley coach Brian Higbee gave all the credit to the Bulldogs, adding the game met his expectations.

“We expected this,” he said. “It’s always like this against Smith, but I told my kids I never doubted them.”

The game’s outcome appeared in doubt early, as Smith Valley took an 18-12 lead on an off-balance 7-footer by Rodolfo Casteaneda with 5:12 remaining in the first half.

Fletcher scored all nine of the Bulldogs’ third-quarter points, but the Panthers entered the final period tied at 33 after Hosier hit two free throws.

Smith Valley surged ahead early in the fourth and maintained a comfortable lead until Pahranagat Valley began its late rally.

“Our guys made the plays when they needed to tonight,” Higbee said. “That’s the sign of a winner.”
Kade Wadsworth had nine points and six rebounds to help the Panthers.

Casteaneda finished with eight points for the Bulldogs.

Virginia City 59, Beatty 44 — In the early semifinal, the Muckers advanced with a victory over the Hornets.

Zach Shell had 23 points and five steals for Virginia City, which overcame a sluggish start with several extended scoring spurts.

Beatty jumped to a quick 7-0 lead, but a timeout by the Muckers paid off with a 20-2 run to make it 20-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Hornets coach Brian Hayes said he was not surprised by his team’s strong start.

“We honestly expected it,” he said. “We expected to jump ahead and dictate the pace of the game.”

But the Muckers led 30-20 at halftime, and began pulling away in the third quarter.

“It’s hard to explain what happened,” Hayes said. “We had a game plan, and we didn’t execute it. We let them dictate the tempo.”

Ivan Maldonado had 21 points and six rebounds to lead the Hornets, who took the court expecting a win.

“We were ready to play (for the championship) tomorrow,” Hayes said.

Anthony Turner added seven points and eight rebounds for Beatty.

Ryan Conners helped Virginia City with 15 points and 11 rebounds.