Moapa beats Boulder City, 63-55, in boys 3A Southern League final

Jummel Hidrosollo / Special to the Home News

The Moapa Valley Pirates celebrate after winning the boys Southern 3A championship against Boulder City High School at Desert Oasis High School on Saturday.

By Brent Hinckley (contact)

Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

After watching their female counterparts capture the 3A Southern League title, Boulder City High’s boys basketball team tried to give the school a sweep of the league’s basketball titles at Desert Oasis on Saturday night.

However, Moapa Valley senior guard Max Jenkins scored a game-high 27 points to rally his team to a 63-55 win at Desert Oasis on Saturday night.

Both teams move on to the 3A state playoffs on Feb. 27. Moapa Valley takes on Spring Creek, the Northern League’s No. 2 seed at 8 p.m., while Boulder City faces Lowry, the north league’s No. 2 seed at 6:40 p.m. The winners advance to the title game at 8:20 p.m., at the Orleans Arena on Feb. 28.

“We’re lucky we have a second chance,” Boulder City coach Bobby Reese said. “Moapa Valley was the better team today and they had a big game by Jenkins. I’d like to have an all-south final and see them again.”

Jenkins scored 10 of his points in the third quarter as Moapa Valley outscored the Eagles 19-6 in the period and rally from a 28-23 deficit to a 42-34 lead.

“It was our defense. We let up,” Eagles senior forward Jeremy Smith said. “This is pretty disappointing.”

Boulder City led 28-23 to start the third quarter.

“They became the aggressive team in the second half and wanted to win,” Reese said.

The Pirates made four three-pointers in the quarter to tie the game at 32-32 and Jenkins made a fall-away three at the buzzer for a 42-34 lead to start the fourth quarter.

Boulder City cut the lead to 58-55 with 38 seconds to go on a three-pointer by senior guard Alex Dillon. Dillon and Smith each scored 12 points to lead the Eagles, while senior forward Shane Levin added 10.

However, Boulder City could not close the gap any further and Moapa Valley made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to extend the lead to eight.

“Hopefully, this will sting, so they know what it’s like to lose and they don’t want that feeling anymore,” Reese said.

Boulder City held a 20-12 lead in the second quarter after a 6-0 run, covering the end of the first and start of the second quarters.