After the Sparks boys basketball team started the 3A North League schedule with three straight wins, senior Andrew Garcia started a little saying “keep the O” as in don’t lose a league game this year.

Well, the Railroaders did just that, capping an undefeated run through league by taking down Fernley, 57-40, Friday night in the regular-season

finale for Sparks.

“The kids are really excited about it. It was a major goal for them to keep the ‘O’,” Sparks boys basketball coach Dick Lee said. “They kept the ‘O’ for 12 games. We have bigger goals though.

Lee said Friday’s game started out slow for both teams. Once Sparks grabbed a 14-7 advantage, after one quarter of play, the Railroaders spread the ball out.

Then the Maroon and Gold picked up some easy buckets off the defense and the outcome was never in doubt.

Lee said Bryan Orellana had a strong night on the offensive and defensive glass and probably had at least 10 rebounds.

The SHS team defense was also impressive, holding the Vaqueros to only 40 points at home. Sparks was up 35-22 at the half and outscored Fernley 22-18 in the second half.

The Vaqueros rested their starters for the fourth quarter since they must play Truckee today for a chance to qualify for the postseason.

Angel Guillen led all scorers with 26 points for a steady night, while Martin Jordan added 15 to the Railroaders’ winning cause.

There’s no rest for the Railroaders, who get up early this morning for an 8:30 practice in order to prepare for the 3A Northern Region tournament next week. Sparks (16-7, 12-0 3A North) will open postseason play Friday night against the winner between the No. 4 and 5 seeds.