Vandals earn top seed with win over McDermitt

Boys basketball at Eureka County High School has wrapped up the 2014-15 division championship. Eureka traveled to McDermitt this past Friday and played the Bulldogs in a game where the winner clinched the division.

Eureka and McDermitt used the full 32 minutes of the ballgame to decide the division’s top team.

Eureka’s Paul Padilla sealed the victory for the Vandals as his steal and ensuing lay up sealed a 62-61 thrilling victory over the Bulldogs. The late game heroics gave Eureka the Eastern Division Championship for Nevada Division IV basketball.

Padilla led all Vandals with 17 points while teammates Nick Gordon and Trevor Merritt also reached double figures in scoring with 14 and 12 points respectively.

Eureka traveled to Battle Mountain the next day to play in a non-league showcase. The Vandals lost to the bigger school by only seven points and now gears up for the playoffs.

Eureka had an excellent regular season with 21 wins and only four losses.

Next for Eureka is the 2015 NIAA Division IV Northern Boys Basketball Tournament. The Vandals will play this Thursday, Feb. 19 against the fourth seed from the West, Excel Christian at 8 p.m. in the high school gym at Spring Creek High School.

If Eureka wins, they will play the following day at 8 p.m. against Wells or Virginia City at the same location.

The top two teams from the eight-team tournament will advance to state next week in Las Vegas.