Basketball Recap: West Wendover Falls Short of Needles in the Playoffs

West Wendover and Needles squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but West Wendover had to settle for second. They fell to the Needles Mustangs 61-55. The Wolverines have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second loss in a row.

Adryan Carlos

Assists (Career)

02/21/25 @ Needles	7
02/14/25 vs North Tahoe	4
02/08/25 vs North Tahoe	4
01/25/25 @ Oasis Academy	4
01/11/25 vs Oasis Academy	4

Despite the loss, West Wendover still got an impressive performance from Adryan Carlos, who dropped a double-double with 21 points and 16 boards. The dominant performance also gave Carlos a new career-high in assists (seven). Efren Delmuro was another key player, putting up 13 points.

Even though they lost, West Wendover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Needles only four offensive rebounds.

Leading Needles to victory were Luke Mills and Darrell Russell. Mills went 6-for-14 on his way to 24 points, while Russell dropped a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds. Russell is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 48% in the last seven games he's played. Another player making a difference was Michael Burns, who posted seven points and six boards.

West Wendover's defeat dropped their record down to 24-6. As for Needles, their win was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 31-0.

West Wendover does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Needles, they and Incline will face off at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday without much rest, having both just played. Needles knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 31 contests -- so hopefully Incline likes a good challenge.