John Stroud/Post Independent
The Roaring Fork boys basketball team applied tough defense and used its size to control the boards en route to just its second win of the season, 44-39, over the visiting Olathe Pirates in Carbondale Friday night.
The win came against the only team the Rams (2-11, 1-2 3A Western Slope League) have managed to defeat this season, but, boy, did it feel good to finally add a notch to the “W” column. Roaring Fork also defeated Olathe 45-37 before the holiday break.
“I’m so happy for the boys,” Roaring Fork coach Tony Gross said. “They come to practice every week and work tails off, and they don’t feel sorry for themselves. They come and they work hard, and they like playing with each other. I’m just proud of them.”
The Rams opened fast, jumping out to a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, and maintaining the 22-20 edge at halftime. Olathe forced several turnovers to open the second half, and grabbed a one-point lead, 25-24, midway through the third quarter.
But Roaring Fork responded behind the speed and pin-point outside shooting of junior guard Graham Pietch, who led all scorers on the night with 23 points.
Olathe pulled to within two points again late in the fourth quarter, but Pietch and senior Jaime Vega were true from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
“We’ve got some winable games coming up, but we’ve still got to play better than we did tonight,” Gross said. “Our defense was much better tonight than it’s been, and our rebounding was better. But we still turned the ball over too much.”
GIRLS — Roaring Fork 49, Olathe 36
The Roaring Fork girls looked to have things well in control against the Pirates, building a 24-10 lead at the half and opening a 23-point lead early in the third period.
But Olathe found a way to put the clamps down with an aggressive full-court press that rattled the host Rams, who saw their big lead dwindle to 11 points.
“We need to control the tempo and pace of the game all the time, and we’re playing fast, so it’s something they’re still learning,” Roaring Fork coach Juan Quintero said. “They just need to know when not to rush.
“Whether it’s a win or a loss, we just try to learn from it and improve,” he said. “It was a good learning experience.”
Balanced scoring helped the Rams’ cause, as eight players got on the scoreboard, led by Caroline Wisroth with 10, Emily Broadhurst and Isabella Hernandez with nine each, and Maya Lindgren with eight.
The Rams improved to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in the WSL to stay in the hunt for a league title.
Other scores from Friday night:
Girls — Delta 64, Coal Ridge 42; Rifle 49, Eagle Valley 29
Boys — Coal Ridge 59, Delta 55; Grand Valley 65, Moffat County 40
