MEEKER I The Meeker High School boys’ basketball team overcame difficult circumstances after last Tuesday’s game in Rangely to win their first two league games over the weekend. Head coach Klark Kindler suffered a heart attack after the game in Rangely, but he is recovering and staying involved with the team. He attended Friday night’s game and Monday’s practice, helping assistant coach Matt Dupire and interim coach Andy Coryell form a game plan for the upcoming matches against Debeque and Plateau Valley.
Coach Dupire kept the team focused on its task at hand despite concern for Kindler, and the team held off several runs by the Mustangs from West Grand.
“We were pretty happy with the way we came out and competed. Obviously it was a tough week,” Dupire said.
The Cowboys battled a late run behind the strong play of Jeremy Musgrave who led all scorers with 19. The speed and key three pointers by Raul Lopez helped Meeker maintain a lead throughout the game and Scott Smith was a force inside, both adding 14 points to the Cowboy’s 60-54 victory. Following its Friday night game, the team traveled to Walden to take on North Park. Dupire emphasized the importance of coming out strong and that is exactly what the Cowboys did, getting off to a 10-0 lead just a minute and half into the game. The team never really looked back and finished up 30 points at the end of the game. Once again Musgrave led the scorers for the team with 20 points and senior Nate Walsh added 18 in the Meeker win. Dupire complimented the team’s play and said, “Jeremy had a nice weekend and defended North Park’s best player.”
The 2-0 start to league play was exactly what the Cowboys were looking for. With the help of Coach Kindler, who will not be able to attend this week’s games, but will be back on the sideline the following week, the coaching staff prepares for the weekend ahead. Kindler has occupied some of his down time by watching game films. His team proved to be well prepared last weekend, and it was evident in the well-coached games that Dupire, Kindler’s long-time assistant and former player, has paid close attention through the years.