The boys basketball team had an intense week playing county rivals the Tooele Buffs and the Stansbury Stallions as the first home games of the season.
This year there are 33 players on the boys team. Five seniors, nine juniors, ten sophomores, and nine freshmen. 16 of those players are on the varsity roster.
The team played Tooele on Wednesday and battled through it. The score was 11-19 in the first quarter. The cowboys had lots of shots but they were falling short. After the quarter break the boys knew what they needed to do to make a comeback. Ethan Powell got a layup and then a steal causing the team to gain momentum. They were able to go on a run and score 17 more points. At the end of the first half the score was 30-32.
After halftime the boys came out adjusting their game, correcting the defensive angles and shooting form. The third quarter ended 40-53. The team went on the court in the fourth quarter with more intensity, not ready to give up without a fight. The game was a physical battle, two players for the cowboys and one player for the buffs had four fouls. The boys were slowing down, coach Gudka started to put bench players in to help bring the momentum back. Camden Killian fulfilled his assignment and hit a three-pointer bringing the boys back on a scoring run. The team kept fighting until the end with the final score being 64-61. Jackson Kell, junior, starting center, said, “We could’ve done better but we didn’t deserve to lose.”
With the week not over the boys had to bounce back quickly from the Tooele game and start preparing to play Stansbury.
When the team walked in on Thursday their energy was different from the night before. They had a new mindset going into the game. Keltin Byrd, Junior, forward, said, “I think we just had to prove something to ourselves and prove to everyone that we have what it takes to win.”
It was a tight game the whole night. Stansbury took the lead in the first quarter but it didn’t slow the team down. The second quarter was physical, with Stansbury having four team fouls. The team was down 5 points with two minutes left in the quarter. Keltin Byrd hits a three bringing the score to 25-27. Jackson Kell gets fouled on a shot with 34 seconds left, causing him to shoot free throws which ties the game. The crowd was ecstatic. Brooklyn Olson, student spectator, said, “It was very intense and loud. The student sections were challenging each other to see who could be louder.” The stallions were able to get the final shot to end the half, 27-29.
The team wasn’t going to give up. The third quarter was a tight match, each team exchanging points, back and forth. The cowboys were able to pull ahead, winning the third quarter 40-38. It all came down to the last quarter. The stallions were able to tie the game 42-42 with three minutes left. Dennis Castagno made a three-pointer bringing the cowboys up. Stansburys coach called a time out. The boys came out on defense putting pressure on Stansbury trying to not let them take any shots. Bryson Roberts gets a lay up bringing the score to 47-42 with 50 seconds left on the clock. The stallions were fouled causing them to add two more points to their score. Down by three, they’re coach calls another time out in hopes of creating a play to get a shot off and tie the game. The cowboys come out on defense full court pressing, hoping to create a turnover. They get the ball with three seconds left. The boys were able to make a comeback from the first quarter and win 47-44. Kaylie Gudka, head coach for the boys team, said, “the team played well, we deserved to win both of the games but the luck wasn’t on our side yesterday.”
The boys are now 3-3 but have a long season ahead of them. They have a home game next Friday against Provo. Then, they will attend a tournament in Cedar City over Christmas break to finish out the first half of the season.
