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	Pirates Win One, Lose One

	by Jonathan Oglesby Moapa Valley Progress The Pirates faced off against the Boulder City Eagles on Friday, January 18. The game was a back and forth contest pitching the Pirate defense against highflying Eagle guard River Frantz. The Eagles quickly took control of the first half and put on a show featuring Frantz’s three pointers. The Eagles outfought the Pirates offensively in the first quarter and it showed when they took a 24-17 lead. The Pirates found themselves dropping fast in the second quarter as River Frantz and the rest of the Eagles downed baskets from the perimeter. Moapa Valley trailed by as much as sixteen with about 6:20 left in the half. But then they began to fight back. A major turning point in the quarter was when Max Jenkins was called for an intentional foul for pushing a Boulder City player to the ground. That player was unable to make his foul shots. The team lost their confidence from that point on leading to a Moapa Valley comeback led by Bobby Vallet, Shaun Hilton, Steve Jensen, and Dustin Maletich. Score at the end of the first half: Moapa Valley 32, Boulder City 38. The third quarter became a defensive struggle as both teams fought to keep the other from scoring. Moapa Valley had a chance to tie the game several times but couldn’t. That sent the Pirates and the Eagles to the fourth quarter in a close game with the Eagles leading 48-44. Moapa Valley came out to play ball in the fourth quarter as the Pirates got the score to within two on a Brad Weiss basket to make the score 48-46 with 7:10 left in the game. Moapa Valley would take the lead for the first time since the first quarter when Joe Rebman made a layup to give the Pirates a 52-51 advantage. When Max Jenkins made a layup with 1:50 remaining, the Pirates took a 55-51 lead. At that point, it all came down to free throws as the Pirates were forced to make their foul shots to go on and win. Bobby Vallet and Dustin Maletich did just that and lifted Moapa Valley to victory. Final Score: Moapa Valley 62, Boulder City 57 Head Coach Mike Strong commented after the Boulder City game. “Our kids got it done. They took it to us early but we played better coming back. We still have to keep improving but we have high hopes,” commented Strong. On Saturday, Moapa Valley faced off against the three-time defending state champion Faith Lutheran Crusaders. The Pirates played impressively against Faith Lutheran in the first quarter. Unfortunately, against Faith Lutheran, impressive just isn’t enough as Faith Lutheran jumped to an early 8-4 lead over the Pirates. Faith Lutheran took a 17-10 lead into the second quarter. The Pirates would score first in the second quarter on a Shaun Hilton layup to put them within five, down 17-12. It turned out that would be the last points the Pirates would score for over four minutes as the Crusaders went on a 7-0 run. The Pirates would comeback to score points off of Shiloh Sandoval and Zach Frehner but couldn’t escape a deficit going into intermission. Score at the end of the first half: Moapa Valley 19, Faith Lutheran 28. Things started badly for Moapa Valley in the third quarter as the Pirates didn’t score for over two minutes while Faith Lutheran stretched their lead to 36-19 with 5:50 remaining in the half. Moapa Valley was hard pressed offensively and defensively as Crusader star Conner Maloney stretched out the Pirates. Things did begin to work in the Pirates favor late in the quarter as Shaun Hilton and Bobby Vallet were able to get some success beyond the arch. It would be hard for the Pirates in the fourth quarter however as they trailed Faith Lutheran 49-30. Bobby Vallet opened up the Pirate attack early with a three pointer to make the score 52-33 with 6:25 left but Faith Lutheran would have none of that as they scored some early points to put the game out of reach. Final Score: Moapa Valley 41, Faith Lutheran 61.