Another barn-burner high school boys basketball matchup between Roaring Fork and Coal Ridge in Carbondale Tuesday night proved to be one for the scrapbooks.
After a huge 50-39 win last week at Class 4A Aspen to help improve Roaring Fork’s 3A state power ranking to No. 7 coming into the week, the Rams needed another win over the visiting Titans, also a 4A team, to prove themselves worthy.
After falling behind by 10 points early on, Roaring Fork battled back to tie it 23-23 just before the half, and upped the intensity in the second half to come away with the 51-46 win.
“It feels amazing, and I think everybody in that locker room knows we can hang with the biggest teams and continue to win those kinds of games throughout the year,” said Rams senior Lucas Carballeira, who finished with 17 points on the night to lead all scorers. “It’s going to show up in the postseason, as well.”
A back-and-forth battle into the fourth quarter saw the Rams down 46-41 with under 3 minutes to play. But the home team took charge, shutting down the Titans on the defensive end and exploding for a 10-0 run to steal the victory and avenge a one-point loss to Coal Ridge last season.
If the defense does its job, it can make up for a lackluster offensive output, Carballeira said.
“We’re excited for the games ahead, and these measuring stick games show us where we are and what we need to improve,” he said.
After the Aspen win on Jan. 30, the Rams topped 3A league foe North Fork, 74-56 the following afternoon.
The Rams improved to 13-2 overall with the Tuesday win, and are in command of the 3A Western Slope League at 6-0.
Girls regroup for win
After a disappointing 57-41 loss to 3A Western Slope League foe North Fork on Jan. 31 to fall into fourth place in the league at 6-2, the Lady Rams rebounded for a 70-39 win over Coal Ridge on Tuesday to improve to 14-2 overall.
“I know we can play a lot better than we played at Meeker (a 47-40 loss) and against North Fork,” said junior Riley Bevington, who poured in 37 points against the Titans. “It just felt good to come out with some intensity and remember who we are.”
The Rams are having to do it without senior post player and leading rebounder Nikki Tardif, who is on the bench with a leg injury and not expected back until later in the season.
After demolishing Aspen 72-5 the night before, North Fork found a way to stop the depleted Rams offensive attack.
“They ran a box and one defense, double- and triple-teaming Riley for most of the game, and limiting her to six-for-six free throws,” Rams head coach Mike Vidakovich said.
Sophomore Annelise Bumgarner and junior Hazel Jenkins picked up the slack, scoring 12 and 8 points, respectively. Vidakovich said he will be looking to his other younger players to step up with key league games coming up against Gunnison (Saturday, Feb. 7), Meeker (Feb. 10) and Cedaredge (Feb. 20), all at home.
“We have other kids who are very, very capable of stepping forward and filling the void,” Vidakovich said. “We’ve also got to do a better job of keeping our composure on the court in times of adversity.”
Girls swimming
The combined Glenwood-Roaring Fork-Basalt girls swim team had a pair of local meets, Jan. 30 in Aspen and Jan. 31 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center pool.
At Aspen, Glenwood won the team competition with 828 points to Summit’s 554. Top swimmers for the Demons were Sylvia Duchscher, who won the 50 free, and the winning 200 medley and 400 free relay teams.
The home meet served to honor the team’s seniors, Grace Anson, Caroline Cole, Avery Barth, Taylor O’Neil, Vespera Steiner, Addison Raymond, Lila Richards and Alexa Sampson.
The Conference Championships in Grand Junction this weekend will conclude the regular season.