| Erik Buchmiller hits for two against Delta. Buchmiller scored a game high 22 in the Tuesday game against Juan Diego on the Dino’s home court. |
It was a week of extremes for the Dino boys and in the end they remain in contention for the second place slot in region eight action. On Wednesday Carbon took on Juan Diego and walked away with a 70-61 win. But Friday night the top 3A team came to town and left the Dinos in their dust, beating them 66-46.
The Juan Diego Eagle showed up Wednesday night looking to add a win to their record. But the Dinos jumped out hard and even though Juan Diego had a small lead at the end of the first, the Dinos were beginning to control the tempo of play as they headed toward the second quarter. Carbon ran the ball hard as their baskets began to fall. At the break they found themselves up 33-28.
It was the third quarter where the offense really took off. Carbon put up 27 points while the defense also did its job and held the Eagle to 18. The Dinos took a 14 point cushion into the final period.
Both defenses tightened up and there were several hard fouls as the game drew on. Even though Juan Diego made up a bit of ground, Carbon held on to take the victory.
Coach Bianco felt like it was one of the best games his team has played. Erik Buchmiller scorched the net with 22. Joey Keller had a solid game, adding 14. Tyler Bean also was in double figures with 10, including a pair of threes.
Unfortunately there was little time to revel in the win before the powerful Delta Rabbits came into town looking to keep their undefeated region record intact. The Dinos knew it would be a major upset if they could come out on top and they hit the floor with intensity.
Even though they scored first, it was the last time they had the lead. Limiting Delta to 12 points in the first, the defense was keeping a lid on the game. The offense could not get a shot to drop and settled for jumpers rather than head inside to challenge their taller, bigger opponents. The Dinos only could manage four points in the first.
They got a bit more on track in the second and scored 12, but Delta also got their offense rolling and added 21 to their total. The Dinos trailed by 16 at the break.
The third period didn’t get much better for the Dinos and they trailed by 25 going into the fourth. As Delta settled into cruise, the Dinos kept fighting and didn’t let the gap grow any wider. They finished with 46.
Keller was the only Dino to hit double figures with 14. Buchmiller trailed with nine. “Delta is a good team,” admitted Bianco after the loss. “But I am disappointed with the intensity tonight, we have to be able to play the good teams better than this. We had a good strong game against Juan Diego earlier this week and if we had brought that to the floor for the entire night we would have been right in this game.”
Carbon takes on North Sanpete on the road and then play host to Emery on Friday. It is crucial to beat both teams if they want that second place seed going in to the state tournament.
Game time for the Friday home game will be at 7 p.m. at the Carbon gym.