It was all about the boys on Saturday, Feb. 22, as Roaring Fork High School basketball hosted 5A Eagle Valley in a game that tested the talents of the Rams, who remain undefeated in the 3A Western Slope League.
After taking another step toward the outright league title with a 65-39 win at Cedaredge on Friday, the Rams (15-6 overall, 10-0 in league), had a chance to boost their RPI power rankings against the 17-6 Devils.
Eagle Valley looks to share the 5A WSL title with Glenwood Springs, with both teams finishing at 5-1 in league play and headed into the regional playoffs this week.
While the Rams were still in it, down just four points 39-35 at halftime against the Devils, they were outscored 38-28 in the second half of play to take the 77-63 loss.
“We missed a few easy buckets that could have made the game more interesting,” Rams Head Coach Jason Kreiling said. “We played well, but there are definitely some things we can clean up for the final two games of our regular season.”
Junior Lucas Carballeira had 16 points on the afternoon, including four three-pointers. Juniors Ethan Wilson (three threes) and Kiko Pena and sophomore Quentin Galbraith each had 11 points.
“Cedaredge was a good league win,” Kreiling said. “Sometimes, going on the road it’s about what team shows up, and we showed up ready to play.”
Carballeira had 18 points in that contest, and Pena had nine points to go along with his nine rebounds.
The Rams find themselves ranked No. 19 among 3A teams in the latest Colorado High School Activities Association poll, with two games left — Thursday at home for senior night against Grand Valley (7pm), and at Gunnison on Saturday.
With no district tournaments for 3A teams this year, the Rams expect to be on the road for the first round of regionals next week, with pairings and regional hosts to be announced on Sunday.
Lady Rams stay close in Cedaredge rematch
Meanwhile, Roaring Fork’s girls basketball team nearly flipped the script at Cedaredge on Friday night.
The Rams had a chance to redeem themselves against a team that beat them by 38 points back in January, and looked well on their way to doing just that early on.
Up by six points at halftime against the Lady Bruins, the Rams got bit by the turnover bug in the second half and saw the lead slip away, ultimately falling 40-37.
“The old turnover bugaboo caught up with us again and they took advantage of it,” head coach Mike Vidakovich said.
Sophomore Riley Bevington led all scorers with 24 points, while junior Nikki Tardif had eight points and 11 rebounds.
“She really did a nice job of helping us keep up with them in the rebounding department,” Vidakovich said of Tardif.
Now at 19-2 overall, 10-2 in league and ranked No. 9 among Colorado 3A teams, much rides on the final two league games of the season, Thursday at home for senior night against Grand Valley (5:30pm) and at Gunnison on Saturday.
“We still have a chance at hosting a regional, if we can pick up two wins this week,” Vidakovich said of the new 3A rules that award a regional host site to the top eight teams.
As with the boys, regional pairings and locations will be known on Sunday, March 2.