Mineral County’s Tyshawn Bonner plays defense in the Serpents 56-45 win over Coleville on Saturday. (Jason Cardenas photo)
By Pete Summerbell
The Mineral County High boys basketball team knocked off visiting Coleville 56-45 on Saturday, securing a spot in the zone playoffs in the process.
The Serpents overcame a slow start as the Wolves led at halftime 20-15. The MCHS crew got the offense going and outscored Coleville 17-12 in the third quarter and a tie game at 32-32.
The fourth quarter was all Mineral County as the Serpents poured in 24 points and the defense holding the visiting Wolves to 13 points.
The 41 point surge in the second half was led by Victor Williams, Tyshawn Bonner and Brady Cardenas. Spencer Benjamin, a sophomore, and Jon Cromer, a freshman, took care of the defensive boards. Bonner led the Serpents with 17 points, Cardenas had 11 points, Benjamin added 10 points and Williams finished with 9 points.
The win solidified a spot in the Zone playoffs as the fourth seed but with games left with Whittell and Virginia City (senior night) the Serpents can still finish in first or second place.
Last Tuesday, the Serpents beat Pyramid Lake in an overtime game on the Lakers home floor. The Serpents won the game 43-38 as they had to overcome a 7-point deficit midway through the third period. The defense held the Lakers to two points in overtime, and Williams took over scoring six of the Serpents seven points in the extra period. Top scorers were Victor Williams with 17 points, Tyshawn Bonner had 15 points, and Jon Cromer added 6.
Mineral County (9-11, 7-3) can now decide its playoff seeding in the final four games of the regular season.
The Serpents travel to Excel Christian on Friday and to Whittell on Tuesday.
