3A BOYS: Boulder City knocks out four-time defending state champion Crusaders

The Faith Lutheran boys basketball team opened its final season in Class 3A with designs on a fifth straight state title.

Boulder City sent those plans to a crashing thud Thursday night, preventing the Crusaders from even reaching the state tournament.

Joey Western scored 21 points to lead the fourth-seeded Eagles to a 62-54 upset of the No. 1 Crusaders in the semifinals of the 3A Southern League tournament at Desert Oasis.

“It was our day,” Boulder City coach Bobby Reese said. “It’s a big win. It’s nice to beat Faith. They’ve had a stranglehold on the (3A) since they’ve been up here.”

Shane Levin added 10 points for the Eagles (14-16), who will play Moapa Valley in the title game at 8:20 p.m. Saturday to determine who carries the South’s No. 1 seed to state.

Chase Saunders scored 19 points and Brett Lubbe 18 for Faith Lutheran (9-18).

The Eagles clinched their first state tournament appearance since they won state in 1999.

“It’s nice to get back, that’s for sure,” Reese said. “We’ll enjoy it for a day, and then we’ve got work to do. We want to win three more games.

“Our goal wasn’t to get to the state tournament. We want to win the state tournament.”

Moapa Valley 67, Virgin Valley 58 — Clinching a spot in the state tournament was sweet for Moapa Valley.

Ending rival Virgin Valley’s season in the process made it even sweeter.

Shaun Hilton scored 25 points, and Zach Geary hit four third-quarter 3-pointers to lead the Pirates past the Bulldogs.

Hilton, who also had nine rebounds and four steals, said qualifying for state “definitely” meant more against Virgin Valley.

“That makes it even better,” he said. “They beat us on our home court earlier this year, so we wanted to come out and make sure we were the better team and prove it.”

Brad Weiss scored 13 points for Moapa Valley (13-8), including buzzer-beating shots at the end of the second and third quarters. Geary added 12 points, and Casen Lewis had eight assists.

Moapa Valley coach Dallas Larsen stressed to his players after the game that the win doesn’t have to be the highlight of his team’s season.

“I told the kids we’re not going to make that mistake,” he said of being satisfied. “It’s not just going to state. We have another goal in mind.”

Terran Leavitt scored 17 points for Virgin Valley (15-10), which shot only 15-for-28 from the free-throw line.

Virgin Valley coach Rich Bohne said Geary’s four 3-pointers in the third quarter made the difference.

“Four 3s uncontested,” he said. “(Geary) got some momentum, and that gave them a rhythm.

“They hit some tough shots, and we missed some shots we usually hit. They played good defense and hit shots when they needed to.”