Fallon senior Jace Nelson goes up to the basket against Yerington on Thursday in the Rail City Classic. (Photo: Thomas Ranson/LVN)
SPARKS — After meeting its cross-valley rival for the first time in the annual Rail City Classic, the Fallon boys basketball team clawed back in consolation to finish third on Thursday.
The Greenwave, who lost to Fernley on Tuesday, defeated Pyramid Lake and Sparks on Wednesday to set up the third-place game with Yerington, a 67-52 triumph. McQueen defeated Fernley for the tournament title.
Fallon visited Yerington on Tuesday for a 2A-3A crossover contest and opens 3A East league play on Friday when it hosts Lowry, which finished fifth in the Rail City Classic. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. at the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium.
Fallon finished 3-3 against the 3A West to accumulate six points. Each crossover win is worth two points since the teams play each other only once as opposed to a two-game series within their division.
Fernley 69, Fallon 55
The Vaqueros outscored the Greenwave in all four quarters, taking a six-point advantage at halftime before distancing themselves further in the second half with a 23-point third quarter.
Senior Jace Nelson led Fallon in scoring with 14 points and senior Tyler Austin added 10. Senior Collin Brun and sophomore Brady Alves each scored eight points and sophomore Carter Paul added five. Nelson also led the team with nine rebounds, Austin added five and Brun had four.
Fallon 69, Pyramid Lake 47
The Greenwave had only a one-point lead over the 1A school at halftime but scored 44 points in the second half to finish with the 22-point win.
Austin led three in double figures in scoring with a 17-point effort followed by Alves and sophomore Kanigh Snyder each with 12. Nelson scored eight and Brun and senior Colton Tousignant each had six. Snyder and Nelson each led in rebounds with seven and freshman Braden Sorensen and Brun each had five. Austin and Nelson also had five steals. Alves led in assists with seven.
Fallon 56, Sparks 40
Fallon won the second meeting between the two schools after knocking off the Railroaders in crossover play earlier in the month.
Snyder led the Greenwave with 19 points and Austin added 14. Nelson scored 11 points and Brun had 10.
Fallon 67, Yerington 52
Like the Pyramid Lake game, Fallon led by only one at halftime before breaking the game open in the second half with 36 points.
Alves buried four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and Austin also scored 15, all coming in the first three quarters. Snyder added 14, including a pair of threes, and Brun had 12.
