PREP: VC boys reach finals with two wins; girls win twice and will play for 3rd place

VIRGINIA CITY - Virginia City won twice on Friday to earn a spot in the boys championship game at its own Comstock Classic.

In the morning game, Virginia City topped the Galena JV team 60-47, and about six hours later, returned to the court and knocked off Lund 80-48. No information was reported for the Lund game.

The Muckers will face Battle Mountain at 2:30 p.m. today. Battle Mountain also won its pool with a 3-0 record. Battle Mountain advanced to the finals by beating Coleville 56-48 and the North Valleys JV squad 68-37 on Friday.

"We got off to a fast start, we were shaky in the middle and had a decent end," said V.C. coach Hector Bucchanieri, whose team is now 5-4 overall. "We made a few mistakes and let them back in it."

For the second straight game, the Muckers got off to a fast start, outscoring Galena 12-0 in the first 4 minutes 46 seconds of the game, as Adam Young scored seven to lead the surge.

Tucker Melcher broke the drought with two free throws, but the Muckers scored 10 of the next 15 to lead 22-8 after one. Kody Burrell had five straight points to end the quarter.

A 6-2 run built the lead to 28-13 with 5:47 left in the half, but Galena answered back with 10 straight points to make it 28-23 thanks to 3-pointers by Matthew Dobrowski and Alex Sung. A bucket by Jordan Popeila and Kurt Lynch's 50-footer right before the halftime horn got the Muckers' lead back to double digits, 33-23.

Galena closed to 51-47 with 4:16 left thanks to two free throws by Melcher after a technical on Bucchanieri and a bucket by Dobrowski.

Virginia City finished the game with nine straight points, five by Young, to put away the pesky Grizzlies.

GIRLS

• Virginia City 43, Dayton 21: The Lady Muckers shook off a scoreless second quarter and then outscored the Dust Devils 23-2 over the first 12 minutes of the second half to win easily.

"We got off to a good start," said VC coach Todd Hess. "We couldn't score in the second quarter. The girls made their own adjustments. The second half we played with a better sense of intensity. We played 2 1/2 good quarters."

The Lady Muckers' pressure defense held Dayton scoreless for the final 7:42 of the third quarter and the first 5 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. When the smoke cleared, Dayton went from being down 15-14 to trailing 38-14. The Dust Devils turned the ball over 17 times in that span and also went 1-for-17 from the field.

"We came out flat-footed today," said first-year Dayton coach Cliff Serawop. "Their pressure got to us. We were a little tired. It was a very physical game for us."

Keanna Prahl led VC with 12 points, while Jill Dupre and Esmie Venegas added 10 apiece. Andrea Ramirez led Dayton with eight points, six of those coming in the first quarter. Maribel Ledezma added six points.

• Virginia City 59, Lund19: The Lady Muckers outscored Lund 32-2 in the second half to earn their second victory of the tournament.

"We worked hard at the half to tighten up our defensive assignments," Hess said. "We've played six or eight games, and we're overplaying the basketball.

"We got some turnovers which led to some easy baskets and helped build the lead."

Taylor Parsons led VC with 18, 11 of those coming during the second-half blitz. Prahl had five of her 13 in the final 16 minutes.

• Wells 55, Dayton 35: The Dust Devils were unable to handle Wells' press and dropped their second straight game at the tournament.

Dayton, 4-3 overall, plays at 2.30 p.m. today at Virginia City Middle School.

"They pressured us and we fell quick," Serawop said. "We battled back a bit, but their press really got to us."

Taylor Hill missed the game because of a jammed thumb, and Serawop isn't sure if she will be able to go today.

Amber Brooks led Dayton with 13 points and Destinee Serawop added nine.