Published in the High Desert Advocate in the March 7th, 2019 Edition
Wolverines Men Basketball No. 1 seed of the Division 2A North
The Wolverine men basketball played the No. 4 and No. 5 winner from the quarterfinal round – either facing Silver Stage or North Tahoe – in the last regional semifinal contest at Sparks High School.
Front Row L to R: Jose “Pepe” Trujillo, Oscar Lopez, Eric “Stitch” Montalvo, Jose “Mando” Gonzalez, Luis “Cheese” Esparza, Kaden “KP” Peterson, Omar Corona
Back Row L To R: John Sharp, Tommy Kelly, Jesus “Chuy” Gonzalez, Genaro Marquez, Saul “Whopper” Enriquez, Diego Cuevas, Eric Correa, Jim Eveleth(photo credit Kim Reamer HHHS)
The West Wendover boys basketball team has claimed the No. 1 seed of the Division 2A North regional tournament.
The Wolverines finished the season with a 15-1 league record, their only loss coming against Incline – which also finished 15-1 in league play – the Highlanders’ lone defeat coming to West Wendover.
To determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, the teams used the NIAA universal tiebreaker – which included various scenarios.
The first, head-to-head play, resulted in a wash – both West Wendover and Incline winning a game against each and losing the other against one another.
The second – or step “B” – tiebreaker awards one point to each team for every win their defeated opponents had in league play.
Example: No. 3 Yerington (12-4) counted as 12 points for the Wolverines and Highlanders both, because of the 12 wins Yerington had against Division 2A North teams.
Since West Wendover and Incline each beat the same teams – including each other – equally, the second step also provided another tie.
The ultimate determination came down to the third step, the team which allowed the fewest points in the two league contests combined between the tied teams would receive the better seed.
On Jan. 5, the Wolverines won the first matchup 56-50 in West Wendover.
The Highlanders claimed the second meeting by a final score of 65-62 on Jan. 26, at Incline Village.
West Wendover allowed 50 and 65 points for a combined a total of 115 points to the Highlanders in the two meetings, Incline giving up 62 and 56 points to the Wolverines for a two-game total of 118 points.
Thus, allowing three fewer points – the Wolverines will be the No. 1 seed.
West Wendover and Incline will each receive first-round byes in the 2A North regional tourney.
The Wolverines will play the No. 4 and No. 5 winner from the quarterfinal round – either facing Silver Stage or North Tahoe – in the last regional semifinal contest at 8 p.m. Friday, at Sparks High School.
Incline will take on the winner of the No. 3 Yerington and No. 6 winner at 4:40 p.m. Friday, at Sparks High School.
Lady Wolverines
The West Wendover girls basketball team wound up with the sixth and final position of the 2A North regional tournament, finishing with a 6-10 record in league play.
The Lady Wolverines defeated just four opponents; beating both Coral Academy of Science and North Tahoe twice each – posting single victories over Pershing County and Silver Stage.
West Wendover’s wins against the Lady Mustangs and the Lady Nighthawks came at the perfect time, each avenging losses to Pershing County and Silver Stage in the first meetings of the season.
In the first round of the 2A North regional tournament, the No. 6 Lady Wolverines will take on No. 3 Battle Mountain (12-4) at 6:20 p.m. Thursday, at Sparks High School.
The Lady Longhorns won each of the regular-season meetings, defeating the Lady Wolverines 58-41 on Dec. 14, 2018, in West Wendover, claiming the second matchup by a final score of 48-31 on Jan. 18, in Battle Mountain.