MHS Cowboys end season as an “Elite Eight” team

MEEKER I The Meeker High School boys’ basketball team played two very tough games in the 2014 Colorado 2A Basketball Championships in Pueblo over the weekend, finishing their season as one of the top eight 2A teams in the state.
“I am very proud of what we accomplished this year,” head coach Klark Kindler said of his team, “We faced some adversity with injuries, but our kids didn’t make excuses and just went out and played hard and won the big games that we needed.”
Meeker won several big games throughout the season, including the very exciting double overtime win in the regional finals. The team gained a great deal of experience at the state tournament, and Kindler said, “The experience is something the kids will always remember.”
The Cowboys began their tournament against the Akron Rams and the state’s all-time leading scorer in Brady Baer.
Kindler said, “He was better than advertised.”
Meeker came out battling, but the team was down 13-18 after the first quarter. The Cowboys knew they needed to shoot the ball well against the very tough zone defense of Akron but could not get shots to fall.
The team was lead by Joe Newman who had an outstanding game, scoring 21 points. Jeremy Musgrave had 20 points, Dylan Mobley had nine, Ty Dunham eight, Raul Lopez came away with four and Kash Atwood added two.
Meeker outscored Akron by nine points in the final period, 26-17, but it was not enough to overcome a second quarter run by the Rams. The final period proved the Cowboys had tremendous heart and would not go down easy.
Next, Meeker was paired against Holyoke on Friday night for a chance to play again Saturday.
Kindler said, “We competed very hard.”
The team came out showing, once again, that they were an elite-eight team. At the end of the first period, the score was tied 19-19. The second quarter showed the defense on both ends of the floor tightening up, and Meeker went into the locker room down just two.
Holyoke made a run in the third quarter, and that was the difference in the game. Meeker was led in scoring by Mobley with 17, followed by Newman and Musgrave with 11 each, Lopez had eight, Dunham had three and Atwood added three. Meeker played extremely hard for 32 minutes but fell to Holyoke 64-54 in the end.
The boys had an outstanding season, with a team that found different individuals stepping up at different times to find ways to win. The Cowboys have several returning players who gained great experience and confidence over the year and the seniors proved to be outstanding leaders for the team.
League and state awards will be given at the end-of-year banquet and then released.