With a resounding 81-54 win over Reed on Saturday at home, the Galena High boys basketball took charge of the High Desert League race.
Galena improved to 8-2 in league play while Reed fell to 9-2. Since it has swept Reed, The Grizzlies would clinch the league's No. 1 seed into the Northern 4A playoffs if it wins its last two league games.
Reno and Reed have been considered the top two teams in the north, but both were beaten on Saturday as Carson upset the Huskies 59-57 in overtime.
"It was a great win," Galena coach Tom Maurer said. "Everybody talks about Reed and Reno. I like the position we're in."
Reed could never get its transition game going against the Grizzlies.
"We did an oustanding job containing them," Maurer said. "The word of the day is contain. We just kept them out of their game. They were never ever loose to run."
Maurer praised his team's defensive effort and also said it was strong on the boards. Galena broke the game open by outscoring Reed 27-10 in the second quarter to take a 42-25 halftime lead and extended the advantage to 61-46 after three quarters.
Derek Lorenzen had another huge game with 32 points while Dalton Turnbow scored 16 points and Tommy Myers added 11.
Maurer also said Whip Thompson, Sheldon Hutchins and Mikey Ferguson caused havoc with Reed's talented backcourt throughout the game. Maurer also said that Turnbow, Myers and Lorenzen all did an outstanding job on the boards.