Meeker opens playoffs by beating Rangely, 83-47

MEEKER I Senior Mitch Jacob scored a game-high 21 points, and nearly every member of the Cowboy basketball team scored as No. 1-ranked Meeker rolled county rival Rangely Saturday 83-47.
The first round of the District 5 tournament was won by all the top-seeded teams as No. 2-ranked Hayden eased past Vail Christian, third-seeded Soroco upended Plateau Valley and No. 4 Paonia outdistanced West Grand. These final four conference teams will meet Friday in Rangely to determine the placing in the regional tournament. All four teams will advance to regional play.
Meeker now is the only unbeaten team left in 2A, as Colorado Springs School fell to Colorado Springs Christian 53-52 to put a lone blemish on its record. Ignacio, ranked No. 3, continued steamrolling through its conference, running up the score on Nucla 144-35. Sanford, Holyoke, Wray, Limon, Sargent, Lutheran-Parker and Calhan round out the top 10, according to Colorado Preps.
Meeker’s offense was hitting on all cylinders Saturday as the Cowboys were able to score practically at will against the Panthers. For the first quarter, Colton Brown controlled the inside game for the Cowboys, while Brock Campbell and Cole Steiner ranged the outside. Like the previous two contests, the Meeker defense again held the Panthers’ offense in check as they were only able to account for 14 first-half points. Meeker, on the other hand, continued to pour in the points and opened up a 47-14 halftime lead on the strengths of 24- and 23-point quarters.
The second half was more Cowboy offense as they continued to lengthen their lead. Meeker closed out the third period with a 63-25 lead. Rangely made up a little ground on the ’Pokes on the strength of Adam Dahl’s three 3-point shots. Nine members of the Cowboy team scored in the final stanza.
The Panthers host this year’s district tournament in Rangely. Meeker will play the later games as both the boys and girls will face off against Paonia. The girls will attempt to derail the juggernaut Paonia girls’ team, which is ranked No. 1 in the state, at 6 p.m. The Meeker boys will be playing the late game with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s contests will begin at 10 a.m. with the third-place girls’ game, followed by the third-place boys, then the championship girls followed by the championship boys.