MEEKER I Cowboy basketball has again laid claim to the Northwest League Conference Championship with a perfect 10-0 conference record (18-1 overall) as they head into this weekend’s district tournament the number one seed. The Cowboys will play Friday in Kremmling, site of the district tournament, in the first round. Meeker has once again moved up in the state rankings according to Colorado Preps. The ‘Pokes now hold the number three position in 2A in the state.
Friday in Meeker was parent recognition night and the Cowboys completed their season sweep of their cross county rivals, the Rangely Panthers, by 63-31. Rangely gamely hung in the first quarter as Peacock and Scott Smith each paced their teams with four points. At the end of one quarter the Cowboys held a slight lead 11-8. In the second period, the Cowboys put some distance between themselves and their opponents and never looked back. Gable and Cooper Smith led Meeker with six and five points each as Meeker opened up a 29-13 halftime lead. Cooper’s solid third quarter scoring with seven points, along with Meeker’s defense opened the margin a bit more at the end of the third 45-24. An 18-7 run in the final quarter sealed the victory for the Cowboys 63-31. Cooper, Gable and Scott Smith led the Cowboy attack with 18, 10 and 10 points respectively. Rangely was paced by Denny and Fortunato with eight apiece.
Saturday, the Cowboys made the long trek to Kremmling for their only conference match with the always tough West Grand Mustangs. Meeker has occasionally had difficulties playing in the Mustangs’ home gym and Saturday’s game was close throughout. Meeker started out the first quarter with a slim 13-10 lead and was only able to expand it by one point in the second to end the half up by four points, 27-23. Cooper Smith and Trey Morris provided the offensive punch for the ‘Pokes scoring eight and six points in the half. West Grand was able to outscore the Cowboys in the third period by one point to close the gap to 44-41 to start the final stanza. Although the Mustangs were able to score 15 points in the quarter, Meeker scored 22 of their own as C. Smith, Morris and Dylan Mobley lit the scoreboard for six, five, and five points apiece to lead Meeker. Meeker ended up on the top side 66-56. Travis Gore of West Grand led all scorers in the game with 22 while Cooper Smith paced the Cowboys with 20.
Meeker 11 18 16 18 63
Rangely 8 5 10 7 31
Meeker
C. Smith 6,2,1,0-18, S. Smith 4,0,4,2-10, Musgrave 1,1,0,0-5, Eli 2,0,0,0-4, Morris 1,1,2,2-7, Casias 1,0,0,0-2, G. Smith 4,0,4,2-10, Aotafa 0,0,1,0-0, Mobley 0,2,2,1-7
Rangely
Denny 1,0,10,6-8, Fortunato 3,0,2,2-8, Evans 0,1,0,0-3, Phelan 0,0,2,2-2, Peacock 1,1,2,1-6, Enterline 0,0,1,0-0, Byerly 1,0,0,0-2, Massey 1,0,0,0-2, Allred 0,0,2,0-0.
Meeker 13 14 17 22 66
West Grand 10 13 18 15 56
Meeker
C. Smith 8,1,2,1-20, S. Smith 3,0,1,0-6, Musgrave 1,0,0,0-2, Eli 3,0,2,2-8, Morris 0,3,5,2-11, G. Smith 0,2,8,7-13, Mobley 3,0,1,1-7
West Grand
Davidson 0,0,2,2-2, Gore7,1,7,5-22, Ritschard 5,1,0,0-13, Gae 0,1,0,0-3, Gasvoda 4,0,3,0-8, Willson 0,1,0,0-3, Pesch 0,0,2,1-1, Ahrens 2,0,1,0-4.
Colorado Preps rankings as of 2/19/12
CLASS 2A
1. Denver Christian (19-0)
2. Peyton (17-2)
3. Meeker (18-1)
4. Ignacio (15-4)
5. Sanford (16-3)
6. Resurrection Christian (17-2)
7. Byers (15-4)
8. Akron (15-3)
9. Limon (16-3)
10. Lutheran (11-8)