Cowboys host Rangely after two league wins

MEEKER | Two league wins was the way the Meeker boys’ basketball team started 2017 and they will play three games this week, including tonight’s game against it’s Rio Blanco County rival the Rangely Panthers. Meeker will play in Walden against the North Park Wildcats Friday, then play in Baggs, Wyo., Saturday against the Little Snake Rattlers.
The Cowboys beat the West Grand Mustangs 47-24 last Friday in Kremmling, then pounded the Hayden Tigers 65-21 in front of their hometown fans Saturday last.
“Against West Grand, we didn’t shoot the ball very well but as the game went on, the rust kept coming off,” head coach Klark Kindler said about his team’s first game back from Christmas break. “Our defense did a great job of holding them to only 28 points.”
The Cowboys led by two points after the first quarter but opened up the lead by scoring 14 points in the second, while holding the Mustangs to four, taking a 23-11 lead into halftime.
Jerrick Garza led the Cowboys with 15 points, Doak Mantle scored 14 and Logan Hughes scored seven. Zach Dinwiddie led the team with 10 rebounds, Hughes pulled down nine and Eli Newman pulled down eight rebounds.
The Cowboys pounded the Hayden, allowing the Tigers to only score two points in the first quarter and zero in the third. Meeker led 53-9 after three quarters of play.
“We took control of the game early, as we wanted to and kept getting better as the game went on,” coach Kindler said.
Newman finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mantle scored 13 points, Dinwiddie had eight and 11 rebounds, Hughes scored six and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Trapper Merrifield hit three-three-pointers and finished with 11 points. Valentine Rosas and Garza each scored four, while Stephen Walsh scored two and pulled down five rebounds.
The varsity Cowboys will play Rangely tonight at 7:30 p.m., then play the North Park Wildcats in Walden Friday and Baggs, Saturday afternoon.
“Rangely is a big game for us, as they are one of the best teams in the league,” coach Kindler said. “It is important for us to keep on improving.”