Weekend of extremes for RHS boys

RANGELY | “It was a weekend of extremes.” claimed Rangely head coach Kyle Boydstun. Vail Mountain hosted the Rangely squad on Friday, Jan. 27. Vail’s size definitely affected the Panthers—Vail’s starting lineup is 6-foot-9 inches, 6-foot-5-inches, 6-foot-3-inches, 6-foot-1-inch and 5-foot-11-inches.
Vail employed an extended 2-3 zone to slow down the Panthers and jump out to a 22-5 lead early in the second quarter. Additionally, the Panthers were without Kobe Broome, Rangely’s leading scorer since winter break due to an injury early in the game.
The Panthers made a run in the second and third quarters to keep the game close as head coach Kyle Boydstun kept Broome on the bench as a precaution.
“We committed 24 turnovers. With or without Kobe, that is unacceptable. You can’t win on the road when you give the ball away. This was simply the worst we have played all year,” Boydstun said. The Panthers walked out of Vail with a 53-35 loss, moving them back to fourth in league play. Patrick Scoggins led the Panthers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Devin Ramirez pitched in eight points and three rebounds. Austin Ficken, Mikey Sheppard and Cameron Filfred chipped in three points, two points and one point, respectively.
On Saturday, the Panthers hosted a much improved Plateau Valley Cowboys team (6-3 overall record and tied for fourth in league play). The Plateau Valley Cowboys’ only losses had been to Paonia, Vail Christian and an overtime loss at Meeker. The Panthers came out with something to prove as they outscored the Cowboys 20-15 in the first stanza and led 37-24 at the half. Kobe Broome and Patrick Scoggins combined for 30 of the Panthers’ 37 halftime points, but the second half featured a more balanced effort as the Rangely defense and fast break attack held back a Cowboy run.
The Panthers roared to a 70-43 victory and a much needed league win. Patrick Scoggins led the scoring attack with 27 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Kobe Broome put up 19 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists. The game also featured Mikey Sheppard returning to form as he scored nine points. Austin Ficken pitched in seven points and Troy Allred contributed four points. Marshall Webber and Doug Denison rounded out the scoring effort with two points apiece.
“We’ve been putting up fairly good numbers on offense but tonight we played a complete game and our defense and rebounding efforts paid off. Normally, Castro and Klingler average a combined 26 points a game for Plateau Valley. Patrick Scoggins and Devin Ramirez held them to 11 points total. While Friday may have been our worst game of the season, tonight was definitively our best. Now we need to find some consistency to finish out the season.”
The JV teams also split this weekend, claiming a win at Vail Mountain and losing a very good game with Plateau Valley. The Panthers travel to Hotchkiss next Friday and host Vail Christian on Saturday.