The Meadows avenges loss, edges Agassi Prep

Garrett Gosse has won plenty of big games as a leader for The Meadows, but one loss was stuck in his head as he took the court Saturday.

The Mustangs lost by 19 points at Agassi Prep in the regular-season finale, giving the Stars the regular-season Class 2A Southern League title.

"You only have a certain amount of chances in life to win a championship," said Gosse, a senior forward. "They took the first one from us. This was our second chance to win a league championship, and we didn't want to let it slip by."

Gosse made the best of the opportunity, posting 25 points and 11 rebounds as The Meadows used a strong second half to beat Agassi Prep 63-57 in the Class 2A Southern League tournament final at Durango High.

The Mustangs (22-6) captured their first league tournament title since 2006-07, and along with it the South's No. 1 seed for the 2A state tournament.

Both teams advanced to Friday's Class 2A state semifinals at North Valley High in Reno.

The Meadows will meet North No. 2 seed West Wendover at 4:40 p.m., and Agassi Prep will play Northern Region champion Pershing County at 8.

Gosse scored 15 points after halftime, helping The Meadows break open a 29-27 halftime lead.

The Meadows lost 74-55 at Agassi Prep on Feb. 11, but coach Gary Hannig said the Mustangs felt confident they could compete with the defending 2A state champions after an 88-82 overtime victory over the Stars on Jan. 21.

The Meadows held Agassi Prep (22-5) to less than 60 points for just the fourth time this season. The Stars did themselves no favors by shooting 5-for-17 at the free-throw line.

Senior point guard Max Newman, Gosse's co-captain, tallied 14 points and five assists for The Meadows.

"He shoots the ball. He can set people up, and he controls the game," Gosse said. "That's exactly what you need out of a point guard."

Kalinn Jackson had 18 points and six rebounds for Agassi Prep but was one of three Stars to foul out.

GIRLS

Lincoln County missed its first 10 field-goal attempts and was 0-for-10 from the free-throw line before Leti Escobedo hit an 18-footer from the right wing with 37 seconds left in the first quarter to get the Lynx going. Lincoln County went on to claim a 44-32 victory over Mountain View in the Class 2A Southern League tournament title game at Durango.

"The last several games, besides this weekend, we started out pretty slow," Lincoln County coach Lori Cheeney said. "The girls were super nervous about the tournament, and I think the pressure of that really affected our start. But they were able to pull out of it and overcome it enough to win."

Escobedo's bucket, which started an 11-2 run, accounted for Lincoln County's only points of the first quarter, but the Lynx forced 12 turnovers in the quarter and only trailed 7-2.

A steal and layup by Kourtney Gloeckner pushed Lincoln County's lead to 17-11 at halftime.

The Lynx (24-4) finally looked comfortable in the third quarter, holding the Saints without a field goal and pushing the lead to 38-17.

Escobedo finished with 17 points to lead Lincoln County. Briana Marruffo paced Mountain View (16-12) with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Both teams advance to this week's state tournament at a site to be announced in the Reno area. Lincoln County plays White Pine at 3 p.m. on Friday, and Mountain View takes on Pershing County at 6:20.