Edwards, Spring Mountain boys hold off Owyhee

RENO -- Take away some struggles at the free-throw line, and Tomoshea Edwards was nearly perfect Friday. As it was, he was good enough to propel Spring Mountain into the Class 1A state basketball championship game.

Edwards finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds and made a key steal in the final 20 seconds as the Eagles secured a 70-69 victory over Owyhee in a boys semifinal game at UNR's Lawlor Events Center.

The Eagles (24-6), seeking their first state title, will face Pahranagat Valley (19-9) at 12:45 p.m. today, the third meeting of the season between the teams. The Panthers won 45-44 in the regular season, but Spring Mountain claimed the 1A Southern League tournament title, 49-47.

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

He was fouled again and missed both free throws with 4.8 seconds left, but a half-court heave by Owyhee's Skylon McKinney went off the glass at the buzzer.

"This is probably (Edwards') 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."

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

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

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

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

Leading 41-38 after three quarters, Pahranagat Valley went inside more in the fourth, and Kade Wadsworth and Derek Hansen combined for 18 points and nine rebounds in the final eight minutes, when the Panthers made 8 of 11 field-goal attempts.

"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 Panthers starters scored in double figures.

GIRLS

For three quarters, even Pahranagat Valley's harshest critic would have trouble finding something the Panthers did wrong. Maybe a couple of missed shots, a stray turnover.

Other than that, the Panthers were awfully close to perfect in building a 28-point lead over Eureka in a Class 1A girls state semifinal at Lawlor Events Center.

The Panthers settled for a 53-35 victory and a chance to defend their state title against Wells (23-6) in today's 11 a.m. championship game.

"We had a game plan, and the girls came out and executed it," Pahranagat Valley coach Amy Huntsman said. "I only wish we would have done it for 32 minutes, but I'm proud of the girls. They did a really good job."

Pahranagat Valley (25-4) held Eureka (17-6) to 7-for-38 shooting and forced 23 turnovers in the first three quarters.

Bailee Hosier scored 14 points to lead the Panthers. Traci Strong and Kimberly Lewis had 10 each and Halie Lewis nine.

■ Wells 43, Beatty 25 -- The Leopards used a 12-0 run to end the first half with a 23-10 lead and never looked back.

Beatty (11-5), making its first trip to state in 16 years, struggled on offense, committing 27 turnovers and making 12 of 39 field-goal attempts.

Kevyn Swabb led Wells with 20 points, and Ericka Pengelly scored 16.