Boys swept on road trip

ELKO — The Elko boys basketball program is off to the kind of start that is expected of a three-time defending Northern Division I-A regional champion with a lot of returning players. The Indians picked up their second league win in as many contests, defeating Fallon, 53-31, Saturday.

The Greenwave (0-2 league, 1-5 overall) opened the road trip with a 53-47 loss to Spring Creek on Friday.

The Indians (2-0, 5-0) did not have their offense rolling as well as they did Friday against Fernley, but Elko locked down on defense once again. The Indians only allowed 31 points against each of their league opponents.

Elko led 16-8 after the first period and took a 29-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The third period was Elko’s best of the entire game. The Indians scored 15 points in the frame and shut the Fallon offense down, only allowing the Greenwave to score three points during the frame.

The Klekas boys led the way for the Elko offense. Nathan Klekas broke the career scoring record for Elko High School on Friday night and will continue to raise the bar throughout the remainder of his senior season.

However, it was not Nathan but little brother Eric who led the Indians in scoring against Fallon. Eric, a sophomore, had his long-distance shooting dialed in against the Greenwave. He splashed five threes on his way to 20 points. Nathan was the only other Elko player in double figures, scoring 15 points. Nathan finished with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds.

Benton Wickersham had eight boards and scored six points for the Indians.

The three-point shot was huge for Elko. The Indians made 10 3s as a team for the second consecutive game and limited Fallon to just one 3.

Elko held the rebounding advantage 34-24. The Indians grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to six by Fallon. The offensive rebounds allowed Elko to take 46 shots compared to 34 Fallon attempts.

Brandon Turner was the only Fallon player to score in double figures, netting 13 points. Jeff Evett led the Greenwave with eight rebounds and scored seven.

“We missed a lot of good shots, but we played defense and rebounded the ball,” said Elko coach Chris Klekas. “I hope Tim will be okay. We get small and thin if he is not in the lineup. It was a good win though. We started 2-0 in league, and that was our goal.”

On Friday, Evett led Fallon with 23 points, but the Wave was outscored 20-9 in the fourth quarter. Only four players scored for Fallon as Richardson added 10 points, Turner eight and Talyen Cordes four.

The Spartans went 18-for-25 from the free-throw line, while Fallon was 11-of-18.