DJ Panfili attempts a layup during the Cougs 64-57 win at Reno Friday night. Panfili scored nine points in the win as his team improved to 10-0 in the High Desert League Conference.
Spanish Springs
In the biggest matchup in the High Desert League so far this season, the Spanish Springs boys rose to the occasion and went on the road to defeat Reno Friday night, 64-57.
The two teams came into the contest tied for the top spot in the High Desert League standings at 9-0, and traded shots with each other early in the game. The Cougars took a six-point lead into the half, but Reno cut that to one heading into the final quarter of play. Spanish Springs star Jalen Townell, who led with 25 points and nine rebounds, helped take back control of the game late as his team pulled away for the win.
Mason Whitaker was the second leading scorer for the Cougs with 13 points, Leo Grass finished with 10 and DJ Panfili nine.
The 10-0 mark in league play is nothing new for Spanish Springs. The 2016-17 squad finished the season with a perfect conference record of 16-0, and the Cougs haven’t fallen in a league game since a 60-59 loss at McQueen on Feb. 5, 2016. They’ve ripped off 28 HDL games in a row since.
Earlier in the week, Townsell scored 18 points and Grass 13 as the Cougs defeated Hug 74-35 last Tuesday at home. Whittaker also reached double figures with 11 points and led the team with five rebounds.
Spanish Springs (16-4, 10-0) played at Reed yesterday and will host McQueen Friday night a 7 p.m.
Reed
The Raiders picked up a pair of big league wins last week and now sit alone in the third place in the High Desert League standings.
Reed jumped on McQueen early last Tuesday and used a 26-point second quarter to take a big 43-18 lead into the half at home. The Raiders went on to win the game 70-49.
Friday night, Reed cruised to a 59-40 win on the road at Hug.
The Raiders (11-10, 3-3) have six games left on their regular season schedule, beginning with Spanish Springs yesterday and North Valleys at home Friday night.
Sparks
The tough season continued last week for the Sparks High boys basketball team as they lost two more games.
The Railroaders welcomed Truckee to town last Tuesday and fell 71-38 before losing at Dayton Saturday, 59-47. Sparks played Dayton nearly even for three quarters, but the difference in the contest was the second quarter that saw them outscored 24-8 by the Dust Devils.
Next up, Sparks (0-19, 0-10) plays at Lowry Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Excel Christian
Excel Christian made the most of its only game last week and defeated Pyramid Lake on the road last Wednesday, 60-53.
In a game that was tight throughout and tied at 47 entering the final quarter, the Warriors went on a 13-6 run to close out the contest and secure the victory. Jeshua Fixel and Jesse Bain led Excel with 16 points each while Cameron Gaston and Christian Robison scored nine.
The Warriors (5-9, 2-6) played on the Comstock yesterday at Virginia City and will be on the road again Friday night at Smith Valley before hosting Mineral County Saturday.
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