In any sport, it is no easy task to beat a team three times in a single season. In order to progress to the next round of the 3A Western Slope district tournament, the Roaring Fork Rams had no choice but to make it three victories in a row over the Olathe Pirates in Carbondale on Tuesday evening. A month prior, the Rams cruised to a 54-30 victory over Olathe at home, but on Feb. 10 in Olathe, the Rams escaped with a much less comfortable 45-35 win.
The Rams came out of the gates strong, winning the opening tip-off and getting the ball straight to River Byrne, who drove to the basket, drew a few defenders, then kicked it out to Noel Richardson, who drained a wide open three-point shot. Byrne and Richardson continued to find each other and score, but good work by Diego Loya, Gabriel Serson and Ryan Metheny in the paint gave Roaring Fork a healthy 17-8 lead to end a first quarter in which every Roaring Fork starter scored.
In the second quarter, the Rams offense continued to score, but on the other side of the court, Olathe began to find their shooting rhythm. The Pirates could not get a foothold in the paint, but freshman Isaiah Gordon and junior Miguel Lara kept Olathe in the game with their long distance shooting. Eddie Hernandez came off the bench midway through the quarter for his first game time since suffering from a stomach bug last week, and though his passing was off the pace, he finished off a signature transition move with a lay-up just before halftime to make the score 36-23.
Despite their double digit lead, Coach Jason Krieling was clearly not happy with his team’s defensive efforts in the first half. “We always seem to have one quarter of a let down,” he said after the game. “If we are going to win games, we have to show up every quarter and take care of things, and take some pride in playing defense.”
His team came out in the second half with a point to prove. Defensively, the Rams put the Pirates under constant pressure, forced turnovers, held on to key rebounds and limited Gordon and Lara’s open shooting opportunities. By the end of the third quarter, Roaring Fork held a 21-point lead, and they were far from done.
Having given up 18 points in a frantic final quarter during their last game against Olathe on Feb. 10, the Rams knew they needed to focus on finishing this game strong. Byrne led the line offensively, scoring 8 of his 25 points in the game’s final stanza. The game ended 66-39, in favor of Roaring Fork.
As the Rams look ahead to their second-round matchup with the Meeker Cowboys on Friday in Grand Junction, Coach Krieling will be relieved to have a full roster at his disposal after a few rough weeks for his team, health-wise. “I was definitely exhausted this week,” said Byrne, in reference to his health, “but I feel 100% now.” Hernandez, usually a starter, contributed 15 points off the bench after battling a stomach bug last week, and looks ready to get back to his best.
On paper, Richardson’s 12 points might seem modest, but his overall performance was astounding. It was his decisive long-range shooting that got the Rams out to an early lead, and his tidy alley-oop finish in the second quarter that got the crowd on its feet. Defensively he led the Rams with four steals, and he demonstrated his willingness to put his body on the line as he drew a charge, sending the Roaring Fork bench into a frenzy in the process. Richardson’s eye for a pass was also evident, as he linked up twice with Ryan Metheny for easy buckets, once on a cross court pass through traffic, and the other on a classic pick-and-roll move.
Now on a five-game winning streak, the Rams (15-5) will travel to Grand Junction on Friday afternoon to play Meeker (13-7) for a spot in the district tournament final. After narrowly losing out on a League title to Cedaredge due to a tie-breaker that took both teams’ overall records into account, the Rams will want another chance to face the Bruins on a neutral court.