Meeker Cowboy boys’ basketball kicked off with the 23rd annual White River Electric Association Cowboy Shootout featuring teams from Hayden, Mancos, Lotus, Windsor Charter, Palisade, Soroco and Fruita JV. Windsor Charter took home the championship trophy this year.
The Cowboys are coming off of a successful football season and head coach Klark Kindler said “success breeds success,” adding that he is looking forward to a large senior class and the return of a core group of players including Ryan Sullivan, Jonathan Fitzgibbons, Ethan Quinn, Jacob Simonsen, Jace Mobley, Ethan Drake and Finley Deming.
Opening the season with Hayden, the Cowboys took a big and decisive lead within the first few minutes of the game that continued to grow as the game progressed. The final score of 51-27 was in large part due to Mobley’s 11 points, Fitzgibbons’ 14, and tons of contribution from the entire varsity bench.
Fitzgibbons and Mobley also worked the boards leading the way with 25 combined rebounds, primarily offensive. The reshoots contributed to the big gap in the score.
After a win over Lotus, the bracket paired the Cowboys with Windsor. The Firebirds had four players with a field goal percentage at or above 50% and maintained offensive possession longer than the Cowboys to take home the win.
For the Cowboys Mobley led with 14 points and five rebounds, Fitzgibbons had eight points and 11 rebounds and both Quinn and Simonsen each put up six points.
The weather turned Friday and poor road conditions canceled Saturday’s game on the consolation side of the bracket which opened an opportunity for the JV to take the court.
This year’s all-tournament team included Brody Unruh, Windsor (Tournament MVP); Kellin Ball, Windsor; Hunter Howard, Palisade; Fred Moore, Palisade (Slam Dunk Champion); LJ Ballinger, Palisade (3 pt. Champion); Fitzgibbons and Brian Veach-Mancos.
There is one remaining game for 2023, Meeker will head to Edwards to play Vail Christian in a non-league matchup.
