Slow start hurts boys basketball team

Boulder City’s boys basketball team suffered another slow start in a 71-54 loss to Sunrise Mountain on Dec. 17.

The first quarter has been the Eagles’ greatest shortcoming, as they have been outscored 74-27 in their last four defeats. Boulder City, which has yet to play a home game, is 3-6 overall, 0-3 in the league.

Head coach John Balistere noted the Eagles have been missing shots early, falling behind and getting out of their offensive flow.

“We have had some great looks running our offense early on, just haven’t taken advantage of them like we should,” he said. “Our guys will start knocking down shots, I’m sure of it.

“Our defensive effort is not there for 32 minutes. We look good at times, but our transition defense has really struggled.”

Sunrise Mountain (3-6, 1-2) came out of the gate hot, taking a 20-6 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles were competitive the rest of the way, being outscored by only three points.

Boulder City finished with 14 baskets, but shot a respectable 75 percent (24 of 32) at the free-throw line in a tightly officiated game in which the teams combined for 55 attempts at the foul line.

Zach Murphy lead the Eagles with 15 points, Justus Greene had 14 and Carson Balistere had 12. Peyton Koopman added eight and Tanner Montgomery five.

For Sunrise Mountain, senior guard Tyri White scored 20, Steven Adeyemi 15 and Trevor White 12.

Up next for the Eagles is a three-day trip to California, where they’ll play Vista Del Lago, Paloma Valley and Valley View in the Paloma Valley Winter Shootout Tournament. Coach Balistere said the trip will give the team a great opportunity to develop team chemistry.

Boulder City plays its first home game at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5 against the Aussie Travelers.

“I think our guys are really looking forward to playing on our floor; it’s been 11 months,” Balistere said. “With that being said, we have a lot of work to do (in) the next few weeks. Playing on the road is always challenging, but we would never use that as an excuse. You still have to execute.”

— Contact Randy Faehnrich at news@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401.