Virgin Valley pulls a UNLV on Moapa Valley in semifinal

Mike Sims

Friday, Feb. 18, 2005 | 10:30 a.m.

The Virgin Valley boys' basketball team learned from watching the Rebels this weekend to never give up. The Bulldogs were down six points with 59.3 seconds left in the game and came back to beat Moapa Valley 57-55 in overtime at Las Vegas' Del Sol High School.

"These kids never gave up from the very beginning," Virgin Valley coach Gary Neva said. "They started slow, but got better every day since the beginning of the season."

Pirates forward Michael Davis hit a bank shot from 15 feet out to give Moapa a 52-46 lead with 1:35 remaining. A foul shot seconds later made it a 53-48 game with less than a minute to play. A Bulldogs 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play made it a two-point game.

The Pirates had a chance to seal the victory when D.J. Schwarts picked off a Bulldogs pass and drove the length of the floor but missed the layup.

"That has been our hill this year," Moapa Valley coach Jeff Keel said. "We missed easy stuff inside."

Down two with time running out, the Bulldogs got the ball to leading scorer Adam Tobler, who was fouled by Davis behind the 3-point line with four-tenths of a second remaining in the game. Tobler made two of three shots to send the game into overtime.

Tobler led the Bulldogs with 18 points and B.J. Frehner added 17 points in the win.

"They never gave up," Neva said. "They're not very talented, but they are a hard-working bunch."

In the extra period, Tobler gave Virgin Valley a 57-55 lead at the free-throw line with 7.1 seconds left, and Jeff Bowler's desperation 3-pointer was well off-target to end the game.

Bowler led the Pirates with 17 points.

Virgin Valley moves on to play Faith Lutheran in the finals Saturday night at Del Sol High School. It also earned a berth in next Friday's state semifinals at the Orleans Arena.

"They came out with a good game plan," Faith Lutheran coach Bret Walter said of his opponent.

The Crusaders' pressure zone defense held the Eagles to only two field goals in the first half.

Faith Lutheran was led by Cameron Done and Tyler Newman, who had 21 and 14 points, respectively.

Walters said his team is lucky to be where it is and that Virgin Valley will be a tough match.

"We beat them twice this year," Walter said. "They're a great team and we need to be prepared to win."

Faith Lutheran guaranteed itself a berth in next Friday's state semifinals.

Winners advance to 5 p.m. Saturday's 2A championship at Del Sol.

Independence and Pershing County advanced to today's 2A North semifinals at Winnemucca, with Rite of Passage and Mineral County advancing with first-round byes.

Carlin, Pyramid Lake, Wells and Virginia City won Thursday, advancing to today's 1A North semifinals at Winnemucca.

3A girls' semifinals

"There is a lot of experience on this team," Pahrump Valley coach Bob Hopkins said. "We like to press and get out there and run."

Pahrump Valley ran the Bulldogs into a 17-2 hole at the end of the first quarter. A 23-2 run in the third quarter gave Pahrump Valley a 40-point lead, putting the game out of reach.

Michelle Dannenrider had 18 points to lead the Trojans.

Pahrump Valley will play in the 3A championship game on Saturday at Del Sol, and earned a berth in next Friday's state semifinals at the Orleans Arena.

The Crusaders were led by Genesis Lightbourne's game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough.

Northern League semifinals are today at Winnemucca.

Northern Region semifinals are today at Winnemucca.