MEEKER I The Meeker High School boys’ basketball team kicked off its season off with a bang, winning the White River Electric Cowboy Shootout at home.
The Cowboys began their season against Hayden, and the game started like it could be close. But after the two minute mark, Meeker’s offense started clicking and they took a 16-5 lead after one quarter.
Outstanding shooting by Raul Lopez and fast break buckets from Kash Atwood sparked a huge 22-point second quarter, making the score 38-10 at half.
Meeker didn’t look back, winning the game 67-21 and giving them a spot in the semi-final game.
Friday night found the Cowboys matched against a very tall Fruita junior varsity team, and the game was close until intermission.
Meeker was once again led by the offense of Raul Lopez and outstanding passing from Jake Phelan with strong finishes from Ty Dunham. The Meeker squad led 16-11 at the end of the premier quarter.
The team battled hard and went into the half with a 30-27 lead.
Meeker came out of the locker room and made the right adjustments as they outscored Fruita 20-9 in the third quarter.
The Cowboys played solid defense in the final eight minutes securing their 57-40 victory and putting them in the championship game.
The final game was well worth the price of admission as Mancos was an extremely good team, capable of playing an up-tempo game.
Meeker head coach Klark Kindler said, “We learned a lot in the championship game. A lot of our kids had not been in that type of situation before and got some valuable experience.”
The team came out strong once again, taking a 14-8 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter was a battle, and the Cowboys led by six at intermission.
The halftime talk was again effective, and Meeker came out with a big third quarter, outscoring Mancos 19-12. The offense had outstanding flow and the defense was smothering.
In the fourth quarter, Mancos showed they did not get to the championship game by letting up. They came storming back. They outscored Meeker 27-17 in the final eight minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit and composure of the Cowboys late in the game.
Kindler said, “We need to get better at closing games.”
The Cowboys did manage to close the game and capture yet another WREA Championship.
The team played well throughout and got quality minutes from several players.
Kindler added, “I liked the way our kids competed this week; I felt like we got better each day.”
If the team continues to get better every day, the season looks very good for the Cowboys. They are coming off a state qualifying year and have several players with state experience back on the team this year.