John Byrne/Battle Born Media
Robert McFalls goes up high for a shot during Mineral County’s 74-69 regional title win over Spring Mountain on Saturday.

Mineral County coach Pete Summerbell’s Serpents haven’t been in many close games this season, but when they found themselves in one in the 1A Central-South regional title game on Saturday, they went to their star player and got a huge lift off the bench.

Robert McFalls scored 24 points and had some big buckets down the stretch and Jonathan Scott played some key minutes as Mineral County captured the regional championship over Spring Mountain, 74-69.

Scott entered the game midway through the third quarter after Seth Bozzi picked up his third foul and pulled down 10 rebounds while scoring four points. Bozzi still tallied 11 boards in the contest and Damien Montoya added to his huge tournament with 22 points in the win.

The game was tight throughout with neither team able to pull away early. After entering the half tied at 35, the Serpents played their best stretch in the third quarter and took a nine point lead into the fourth before holding on for the win.

“The team is playing very well together with everyone understanding their role and contributing,” said Summerbell.

The Serpents had no problem with Word of Life in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Thursday in Sparks and picked up an 89-52 win. McFalls scored 27 points while Montoya and Treven Wachsmuth each had 18 and Bozzi 14.

They advanced to the title game after knocking off Pahranagat Valley 55-36 on Friday in a game that saw McFalls score 23 and Montoya 18. Summerbell said Wachsmuth was key in holding Stockton Maxwell to just 12 points after he scored 21 in their first meeting in early January.

Mineral County is now moving on to the state tournament where they need to win just two more game to bring home their second state title in three years. They open with Wells tomorrow night at 8:15 p.m. at the S.L.A.M. Academy in Henderson. If they win that game, they could face Spring Mountain again in the state championship game Saturday night if they can get past Jackpot earlier Friday. The title game is set for 8:15 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Even though his Serpents have now won 29 games overall this season and lost just one, Summerbell has his team prepared for the big stage.

“Our motto is just to stay focused and take care of business,” he said.