| Cameron Oliver (14) and Parker Parsons (35) attempt to stop one of Delta’s players from going to the basket in a game at the Dinogym on Friday night. Delta won the contest |
Delta was fighting for a state playoff birth and Carbon, well it was fighting for its honor during the last home game for the boys basketball team this year.
Unfortunately, state placement won out over honor when the Rabbits left the floor with a 52-41 victory.
It’s obvious that Carbon has some great athletes. Their play, their spunk and their energy light up the floor. Talent wise this is a very good team.
But somewhere, in almost every game, something happens when the game just slips away from them; this time it was in the final quarter, and it was just a few ball handling lapses and a couple of missed shots.
The game began with presentations for the Dino seniors, of which there were only four. That bodes well for a young Carbon squad next year, but it doesn’t make anyone on the team feel better this year as they approach the final two games of the season with a 1-5 record. In those two games they face a very good Lehi squad and then a North Sanpete team that right now matches the Dinos in futility with a similar mark in region play.
As the game began, Carbon got ahead quickly with some good shooting and good hustle, then they fell behind a little, then they came back strong at the end of the first period with a 14-14 tie.
In the second both teams scoring fell off with Delta getting the best of the quarter 9-6 in scoring, but not the best of the hustle as Carbon continued to scramble up and down the floor.
| The Dino’s Levi Branch goes in for a score. |
With a half time score of 23-20 in favor of the Rabbits, Carbon was in a good position to still win the game and they knew. The also proved it when they came out of the locker room.
Carbon began with pressure on Delta and the Rabbits didn’t handle it well. Carbon had numerous stops and caused a number of turnovers, but just couldn’t convert those pluses into more pluses. By the end of the third Carbon had outscored the Rabbits in the period and led by two points, 30-28.
At the beginning of the fourth Carbon held its own against the Rabbits and victory seemed in their grasp. But then a little at a time, a Delta steal there, a Carbon miss here, the kids from the west desert began to take the game away from the Dinos.
But what really beat the Dinos in the fourth was the march to the foul line. Delta was able to get there time and time again, but not only did they reach the charity stripe, but they thrived there making 17 of 24 foul shots in the fourth period.
Carbon has some very balanced scoring in the game as Tyler Nelson led the team with 10 points, Miles Hunsaker scored 9 and Carmeron Oliver put in 8. Others in the scoring column included Chase Julian with 5, Parker Parsons with 4, Levi Branch and Jeremy Barker with 2 each and Schyler Mammany who scored 1.
Nelson was responsible for two 3 pointers while Oliver and Julian had one each.
Carbon now has a good chance to win a game at North Sanpete (also 1-5) on Wednesday night, but they must do it on the Hawks home floor in Mount Pleasant.
Then on Friday they face Lehi for the final time in region play, as the Pioneers move on to the 4A ranks next year.