Cowboys exciting on the court

MEEKER I The challenge of a high school basketball game is the ability to put together 32 minutes of good basketball. The Meeker boys’ basketball team is doing just that this season as they have proved time and time again they can play with good teams.
The Cowboys played Hotchkiss on Friday night and Paonia on Saturday.
Coach Klark Kindler said, “We played well for two quarters in both games and not so well in two quarters. We need to work on putting four good quarters together.”
On Friday night, the Cowboys came out very strong and jumped to a 16-10 first-quarter lead. They struggled shooting the ball in the second quarter and trailed by one at intermission. They had an outstanding fourth quarter but could not make up the five point deficit from the third quarter. The team gave itself opportunities to take the lead but could only convert 38 percent of their free throws, missing 10 key shots.
The team was led by Jeremy Musgrave with 14 points and Dylan Mobley had 10, followed by Raul Lopez with nine and Ty Dunham finished with eight.
The Cowboys took their game on the road Saturday against a very tough Paonia team. Meeker once again came out strong, taking an early 16-12 first quarter lead. They continued their solid play through the first half, leading 29-22 at half time.
The shooting percentage went down for Meeker in the second half and, despite an outstanding effort, the Cowboys fell by three, 44-41, at the final buzzer.
The team was led Raul Lopez, who scored 18 points, followed by Ty Dunham’s seven and Joe Newman’s six points.
The Cowboys showed they will be a team to reckon with as the season progresses, and one that can be a “tournament team” by post-season.
The exciting play of the upperclassmen and continued improvement by the younger players is making for an exciting season of basketball.
Meeker and Rangely played Tuesday with the Cowboys winning 65-52 in an exciting game.
The Cowboys will travel to Kremmling on Friday to play the West Grand Mustangs, home on Saturday for a league game against the North Park Wildcats.