Cowboys finish second at districts

MEEKER I The Meeker High School boys’ basketball team is heading to the regional tournament after a big win Friday night in the semi-finals of the district tournament in Oak Creek.
Meeker finished second in the tournament and earned a spot in the regional games to be held at Palisade High School on Friday and Saturday.
“We played well Friday night against West Grand,” coach Klark Kindler said. The team came out strong and never looked back. The Cowboys looked like a team well prepared and well rested after their break.
“It was nice to get control the way we did after a 10-day layoff,” Kindler said.
This was the third time Meeker played the Mustangs this season and the Cowboys showed they were up for the challenge as they walked away with an impressive 70-46 win.
Meeker had very balanced scoring in the game, led by Jeremy Musgrave and Ty Dunham with 17 points each. Dylan Mobley added 11, Raul Lopez was back in the lineup and added nine, Joe Newman had two and Kash Atwood added one.
The win qualified the Cowboys for the district championship game Saturday against the Paonia Eagles.
The Cowboys did not come out like they wanted to, and Kindler said, “We were not ourselves Saturday.”
Paonia took control of the pace and Meeker did not rebound as well as they have in previous games.
“When we went press in the third quarter, we made a nice run and got the lead down to seven with plenty of time left, but they hit a couple big shots and made their free throws,” Kindler said.
Meeker battled hard but could not get closer then seven despite winning the final period, 26-24.
Mobley led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Musgrave with 18, Lopez had nine, Atwood with eight, Dunham and Matt Frantz each added six and Jake Smith and Tom Chitwood each had two.
The Cowboys may get another shot at Paonia. If they do, it will be in the regional championship game and for the chance to advance to the state tournament. The two teams have gone back and forth all season.
Meeker will play Resurrection Christian on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Paonia also ended up in the Grand Junction region, playing against Mancos earlier Friday. Winners of both games advance to the finals Saturday for the opportunity to play in the 2014 state basketball championships.