Balistere, Pendleton earn post-season awards

Helping Boulder City High School boys basketball win a share of the 3A Mountain League regular season title, head coach John Balistere was named coach of the year, while senior guard Sean Pendleton was named player of the year.

“It’s a great honor for myself and my staff,” Balistere said. “It’s extremely rewarding for us and the boys to be recognized by the league. Sean was a big part of our success this year and was certainly deserving of this honor.”

A key part of the Eagles’ 20-7 season, Pendleton left it all out on the court this past season, averaging 18 points, 3.8 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.

A three-point savant, Pendleton shot 40% (59-146) from long distance this past season that saw the Eagles finish with a 11-1 record in league play.

“I’m incredibly honored to be named player of the year,” Sean Pendleton said. “I really put in a lot of hard work and it feels great to have that recognized.”

Along with being named player of the year for the Mountain league, Pendleton was also a first-team All-Southern Region selection.

Joining Pendleton, senior Luke Wright was a second-team region selection and first-team league selection after helping form one of the state most lethal backcourt duos.

Shooting 40% (76-192) from long three-point range as well, Wright averaged 14.6 points per game with 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.

“Luke really came into his own as a shooter this last season,” Balistere said. “He was a big part of our success and his three-point shooting really helped make our offense go.”

Rounding out the Eagles’ postseason accolades, senior Aiden Birch was named a second-team Mountain League selection, while junior King Raleigh was named to the honorable mention team.

Birch averaged 9.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists, while Raleigh averaged 5.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists.