The Meeker Cowboys lost their opening game to Craig and the Rangely Panthers were defeated by Steamboat Springs 38 to 18.
While Steamboat Springs’ pressure defense stymied the Rangely squad, the Panthers channeled that frustration into an attacking offense that scored early and often in the first quarter against the Cowboys.
Up 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers extended their lead by five for a 26-14 lead at halftime.
Devin Ramirez contributed 10 points in the first half, followed by Robert Osteen with six, Stetson Cudo, Drew Brannan and Grady Neilsen chipped in five, three and two points, respectively.
The Panthers continued to outpace the Cowboys in the second half, but the Meeker Cowboys led a furious scoring charge late in the third quarter and stifled the Panther offense until late in the fourth. Kale Burke, Eli Hanks and Gavyn Garr fueled the Cowboys’ late comeback. Eli and Gavyn finished with 12 points each, while Kale contributed six. Andy Kracht pitched in four points, while Luis Villalpando made two.
The Cowboys climbed back within three, but the Panthers’ continued attack provided the needed opportunity to seal the win, 42 to 36. In the final minutes, Ramirez and Osteen pitched in a free throw apiece while Riley Boydstun contributed a bucket for the Panthers’ only points of the fourth quarter. The Panther’s center, Robert Osteen, dominated the defensive boards while finishing the game with 12 points, while point guard Devin Ramirez led the team in assists and finished with 17 points. Cudo finished with five points, Boydstun with four, Brannan contributed a three pointer and Neilsen and C.J. Lucero both chipped in two.
The Rangely Panthers also traveled to Hayden on Thursday, Dec. 4 to play their last regular season game, winning 45 to 10. Robert Osteen led all scorers with 12 points. Grady Neilsen and Riley Boydstun pitched in 9 and 8 points apiece, while Devin Ramirez distributed the ball well and scored all seven of his points in the second half. Drew Brannan also finished with seven points and Stetson Cudo finished with two. Also contributing to the Panthers effort were Marshall Webber, Trenton Files, C.J. Lucero, Nate Freeman, and Tristan Moore.
The Rangely Panthers eighth grade boys were 7-7 before rounding out the season this past weekend at the East Grand Winter Round Robin Tournament in Granby, where they faced West Grand and East Grand.
On Tuesday, the coaches invited the boys and their families to celebrate the basketball season at the middle school boys’ basketball banquet in the Rangely Jr./Sr. High School lower commons.
The Barone Middle School seventh-grade boys’ basketball teams ended a successful season at the annual district tournament Saturday in Craig. The BMS seventh-grade B-team won the tournament and the A-team finished second to Steamboat Springs.
The Barone Middle School seventh-grade boys’ basketballl team finished a very successful season on Saturday in Craig as the B-Team was tournament champions and the A-Team was second in the end-of-year finale.
The teams worked extremely hard all season, and Coach Jamie Rogers was most proud of the compliments received from opposing teams’ parents on their sportsmanship.
The seventh grade B-team finished its season with a record of 12-1, only losing to the A-team from Grand Valley.
The A-team ended 8-5 with three of their losses coming to the same team, a very competitive Steamboat Springs squad.
The teams played hard, improved every week and certainly had fun throughout the season, the coaches said.
