RHS plays Denver Lutheran in regional tournament

RANGELY I The Panthers boys’ basketball team will play No. 1 seeded Denver Lutheran in the Region 4 tournament semifinal round this weekend at the University of Denver, after losses to Paonia and Meeker in the District 5 tournament last weekend.
Rangely lost to the Paonia Eagles 26-47 last Friday, then lost to Meeker 44-53 in the consolation finals last Saturday in Hayden.
“Against Paonia, we just had one of those games where we couldn’t get shots to fall,” head coach Eric Hejl said. “This was only the third time all year Paonia had been held under 50 points but when you’re not able to turn defense into positive things on offense, it’s tough to beat anybody.”
Only Caleb Templeton and Kody Denny scored in the first period, which ended with Rangely trailing 6-10. Templeton was the only scorer for the Panthers in the second quarter, as Paonia took a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
“It was frustrating, because we did a lot of the little things right but when you’re getting open shots and they just don’t go in, there’s not a whole lot you can do,” Hejl said.
Things didn’t get any better in the second half, as the Panthers were only able to score four points in the third quarter and although they outscored the Eagles by two in the fourth, it was too little, too late.
Against the Cowboys, freshman Cameron Enterline popped the net twice from behind the three-point arch to start his team with an eight point lead, adding another 3-pointer later in the quarter to put Rangely ahead 16-8 after the first eight minutes.
“I felt like our offensive execution was very good to start the game and I think that probably did a lot to give the guys back some confidence in their ability to score,” Hejl said.
Denny added seven in the second quarter. Meeker came back to tie the game at halftime at 27 each.
“We had a chance to go into halftime with a lead but a couple of breakdowns with our interior defense let them (Meeker) right back in the game,” Hejl said.
Denny added nine more in the third quarter and his team led by one going into the final quarter but the Panthers only managed two points in the final eight minutes.
“The fourth quarter saw us revert back to the day before with our shooting,” Hejl said. “We might’ve rushed a few shots but for the most part they were good looks, just not going in.”
The Cowboys won the game with 11 points in the final period.
“I always tell our guys the two things they can always control are their attitude and effort and even though the ball didn’t bounce our way last weekend, I think our attitude and effort were mostly in the right place.
The Panthers will play Denver Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. this Friday in the single elimination regional tournament.
“They have a solid team with some good wins on their record (18-4 overall) but I know if we come out with heart and a couple of guys get hot shooting the ball, anything can happen,” Hejl said of the upcoming game. “They play the games for a reason and every once in a while Mike Tyson gets knocked out by Buster Douglas, you just never know.”