Basketball

Small schools win state championships

From 4-peat to late-game heroics, northern region schools capture 4 titles

by
Thomas Ranson
February 25, 2026

From 4-peat to late-game heroics, northern region schools capture 4 titles

The small schools captured state championships on Saturday while Reno and Manogue couldn’t hold onto leads in the fourth quarter, falling in the Class 4A.

In the girls bracket, No. 1W Pyramid Lake went on a 19-0 fourth-quarter run to come from behind to defeat No. 1E Eureka, 44-31, for its fourth title in a row. In the boys bracket, No. 1W Smith Valley won its second-straight state title after defeating No. 2W Mineral County, 72-59, for the fourth time this season.

In the girls, No. 1N Yerington nearly pulled off the big win over No. 1S Lincoln County, but the Lynx won, 43-41. No. 1N Battle Mountain came back from 25 points down to stun No. 1S Needles, 70-67, with a 3-pointer in the final seconds to win its first-ever state title.

No. 1N Fallon’s big third quarter propelled the Lady Wave to their first title since 2019 after they defeated No. 1S Virgin Valley, 65-51. In the boys games, No. 1N Fernley entered the fourth quarter ahead but No. 1S The Meadows came back to stun the host school, 59-52.

No. 1N Reno saw its hopes for a state title fall through in the fourth quarter as No. 1S Losee came back to defeat the Huskies, 41-36. In the boys games, No. 1N Bishop Manogue also had a fourth-quarter lead before No. 1S Clark edged the Miners, 56-54.