3A BOYS: Watters helps Moapa Valley boys pull away in OT, move to final

Moapa Valley’s Dakota Watters didn’t score for nearly the final seven minutes of regulation Friday.

But that didn’t stop the junior guard from taking the first shot of overtime. And when Watters knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:18 to go in the extra period, it gave the Pirates all the momentum as they went on to defeat South Tahoe, 72-64 in the Class 3A state semifinals at the Orleans Arena.

“It took the edge off everything after that one went down,” Moapa Valley coach Dallas Larsen said. “Everyone was kind of hesitant to shoot an outside shot.

“That kind of set the tone for the rest of the overtime.”

Moapa Valley (16-11) plays Lowry (17-7) in the state title game at 12:45 p.m. Saturday. Lowry advanced with a 71-63 win over Sparks.

The Pirates stretched a 28-21 halftime lead to 42-28 after a fast-break bucket by Casen Lewis with 2:54 to go in the third quarter.

Josh Thompson had 10 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter to help Moapa Valley push the lead to double figures.

“We said we wanted to come out in the third quarter and pull away, and we did that, but then we just kind of relaxed,” Larsen said. “And any time you relax against a team like that, you’re just asking for trouble. They’re a no-quit team.”

The Vikings (12-12) chipped away at the lead, finally cutting it to a point on a pair of free throws by Peter Pielaet-Strayer that made it 59-58 with 31.6 seconds left in regulation.

South Tahoe’s Robert Perez came up with a steal with 14 seconds left, and Jacob Stowell’s layup put the Vikings up 61-60 with nine seconds on the clock.

The Pirates pushed the ball the other way, and Thompson got the ball inside to Hayden Cooper, who was fouled with 1.5 seconds to play. He made the first to tie it, but missed the second as the game went into overtime.

“That was a gut check,” Larsen said. “That brings us back to the roots that we can’t just play not to lose; we have to play to win every time down the stretch.

“We kind of got a little hesitant. We were looking to run time instead of score, and that’s not our game.”

Thompson led Moapa Valley with 20 points, but didn’t score in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Watters added 16 points and 12 rebounds, Cooper had 15 points and seven boards, and Lewis scored 13.

The 5-foot-10-inch Watters had eight rebounds in the first half to help the Pirates to a 19-11 rebounding edge before the break against a taller South Tahoe team.

“It’s hard to box out someone from the perimeter all the way to the basket,” Larsen said. “He’s done that for us all year. As small as he is, I think he averages the second-most on our team for rebounds. So he’s been big.”

Pielaet-Strayer led South Tahoe with 26 points and 13 rebounds, including 11 points in the fourth quarter. Perez added 20 points for the Vikings.

Lowry 71, Sparks 63 — Sean Millikan had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Buckaroos past the Railroaders.

William Thacker had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Sterling Michael Snow added 12 points for Lowry.

Martin Jordan led Sparks with 22 points and 14 rebounds.