Cowboys beat Gore Rangers 72-53

MEEKER | Only the Meeker boys’ basketball team played a game last Saturday in Vail, as Vail Mountain does not have a girls’ team, so the Cowboys took the opportunity to earn another Western Slope League win, beating the Gore Rangers 72-53. The Cowboys will host the Little Snake River Rattlers from Baggs, Wyoming tonight, then host Caprock Academy, Friday and travel to Hotchkiss to play the Bulldogs, Saturday.
Against the Gore Rangers, the Cowboys started with a 19-15 lead after the first quarter and increased it to 31-24 at halftime, before breaking the game open in the third quarter, more than doubling Vail Mountain’s output, to lead by 20, going into the final quarter.
“We struggled with their bigs in the first half but in the second half, our bigs dominated them,” Meeker head coach Klark Kindler said. “We shot the ball well and did a great job of getting out on the break.”
Meeker’s “bigs” Logan Hughes, Eli Newman and Zach Dinwiddie, who was back on the court after an injury, led the Cowboys in points and rebounds. Hughes finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, he made six of seven from the free throw line, while Dinwiddie scored 13. Newman scored 12 points, as did senior classmate Doak Mantle, while Newman pulled down eight rebounds, Mantle led the team with five steals.
Senior Valentin Rosas scored 11 points, Stephen Walsh, Trapper Merrifield and Kale Burke all made a basket against the Gore Rangers.
The Cowboys will put their 10-3 record on the line tonight, following the varsity girls against the Rattlers from Baggs, then play WSL games against Caprock Academy and Hotchkiss.