3A BOYS: Moapa Valley boys rally past Boulder City for 3A Southern League title

The third quarter of a league tournament final might not seem like the best time for the debut of a basketball team’s zone defense.

The timing, though, couldn’t have been better for Moapa Valley’s boys.

The Pirates, who weren’t having success in their man-to-man defense against Boulder City in the Class 3A Southern League final at Desert Oasis, switched to a 1-2-2 zone — and it worked like a charm.

Moapa Valley held the Eagles to just 3-for-10 shooting and forced seven turnovers during a 19-6 third-quarter run that helped the Pirates to 63-55 win.

Both teams advance to the state semifinals on Friday at Desert Oasis. Moapa Valley (14-8) will play Spring Creek in one semifinal. Boulder City (14-17) meets Northern League champion Lowry in the other semifinal.

“We went to a little zone, which we hadn’t done all year, and I think it caught them by surprise,” Moapa Valley coach Dallas Larsen said. “We talked at halftime about getting rebounds, and we weren’t doing that, so we called a timeout and went to the zone.”

Boulder City’s 28-23 halftime lead evaporated within two minutes of the timeout. The Eagles couldn’t go inside and didn’t get good looks at the basket.

“We were expecting them to do something,” Boulder City coach Bobby Reese said. “We just didn’t respond very well. They became the aggressors.”

Max Jenkins, who led all scorers with 33 points, tallied 10 of the Pirates’ 19 points in the quarter, helping Moapa Valley grab a 42-34 lead.

“That’s a big game,” Reese said. “Hats off to him.”

The Pirates extended the lead to 51-39 on Jenkins’ free throw with 4:48 to play before the Eagles rallied and made it interesting.

Trailing 56-46 with 1:28 to play, the Eagles used a 9-2 spurt — capped by an Alex Dillon 3-pointer — to creep within 58-55 with 36 seconds to play.

“We finally became the aggressor again in the last three minutes, but by then it was too late,” Reese said.

Jenkins hit four free throws in the next 11 seconds, putting away the game.

Shaun Hilton added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates, who won at Boulder City on Jan. 9 but lost a 53-37 decision to Boulder City at home on Jan. 30.

Jeremy Smith and Alex Dillon each scored 12 points to lead the Eagles, who were the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament.

“We’re lucky because we get a second chance,” Reese said. “You don’t get those very often in life. I hope our kids realize how lucky we are that we get this chance.”