After the Meeker Cowboys’ big home victory in the first round of district basketball on Tuesday, the team traveled to Grand Junction Central on Friday and Saturday for the rest of the tournament.
“It was a well run tournament with great facilities,” commented head coach Clark Kindler.
Four teams took to the court on Friday, and Meeker took on the Rolling Fork for the third time this year. In his first two games, the Cowboys lost by 22 points or more, and he was down only 4 points in the first half.
“We were scoreless for six minutes in the third quarter and couldn’t recover,” Kindler said. ‘If you want to win a tough game, you can’t do it’
It was the closest match to date between the two teams, with the final score 50-59.
Jonathan Fitzgibbons scored 17, Casey Brink 12, Ryan Sullivan 11 and Jace Mobley 10.
With four guys scoring in double digits, it’s hard to guard and you can’t leave anyone alone,” Kindler said. “A team with one really good player or two of him is easy to defend, but in the rotation he has to defend all six players.”
The breadth of talent across the team was demonstrated in Game 2 of the tournament, with yet another Cowboy posting double-digit numbers in one game and Ethan Quinn scoring 16 points to lead Meeker to victory . Mobley scored his ten points, Fitzgibbons seven, and Sullivan and Jacob Simonsen six each.
The Cowboys have been 1-1 against the Grand Valley Cardinals in their previous matchups, but the Cowboys won Game 3, 45-40, to finish third in the district competition.
Kindler commented: He let me know we were heading to Leadville.
When Lake County made the Top 8, Yuma jumped to 9 and lost the host spot.
There are 32 teams left in the Class 3A state bracket. The top eight teams will host a four-team single-elimination tournament, with Meeker, Yuma and Bayfield in Leadville’s Lake County.
At 5:30pm, Meeker will take on Lake County.
“I think we can do well against Lake County,” said Kindler. “They’re wild and fast, so they need to protect and control the ball well, but they can beat them.”
The second game will be played on Saturday between the winners of Friday’s game.
With Meeker in the new classification, there have also been some changes to state tournaments. He needs two wins at the regionals for them to enter the Elite 8. This is the same as last year. However, the remaining state games will be held at the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gym.
Tiffany Jehorek – Herald Time Specials
