The general consensus among everyone who has seem them is that the boys basketball team from East Carbon High is vastly better than last years squad. They run better, they score more, they hustle and the play better defense.
Unfortunately the league record doesn’t say they are. After losses to Wasatch Academy last week (64-47) and to powerful West Desert at home on Tuesday night (65-44) they are 0-7 in league play and 2-11 overall with not much season left.
“We are much better than last year, but we just can’t seem to put it together for a whole game,” says head coach Steve Gutierrez.
The Wasatch Academy game was an example. In the first quarter the Vikings played the Tigers very tight actually leading at the end of the first period 13-12. It looked good.
Then in the second period a big run by the Tigers and the powerful rebounding of Janko Dshukev did in the Vikes as the WA kids scored 24 points while holding the Vikes to only 10 points.
The third quarter did not prove to be as bad, but East Carbon still lost it 15-6, basically putting the game out of reach at that point.
But somehow the Vike players didn’t seem to understand that, as they rallied in the fourth period and beat the Tigers on their own floor for that quarter 19-12.
“We seem to be able to put two quarters together but not all four,” stated Gutierrez.
Leading scorers for the Vikes were Tony McFarland and DJ Huitt with 12 each.
Then came league leading West Desert on Tuesday night with the fourth leading scorer in the state in Drew Alder (20.4 points per game) and a powerful bunch of guys surrounding him.
In the first quarter West Desert came out as expected and dominated all aspects of the game. They led 15-4 at the end of the first.
But a funny thing happened on the way to their as-sure-as-the-sun-will-come-up-tomorrow victory; East Carbon came back and made a game of it. Behind the shooting of Austin Preston and the floor play of McFarland and Huitt, the Vikes actually beat the Hawks 17-15 in that second quarter and came within six points in at the beginning of the third.
But that momentum suddenly disappeared as the Hawks hit two three pointers and began to pull away again. They finished the third quarter with a run and out scored the Vikes 19-13.
With a 49-34 deficit going into the fourth quarter the East Carbon players looked a bit down. Nonetheless they continued to play hard and furious and never gave up. The fourth quarter ended with West Desert putting a number of reserve players and taking the quarter 16-10.
Preston scored 16 points in the game and McFarland put in 13. For West Desert, Alder was not the leading scorer this time; instead it was Joe Mathews who put in 17.
The Vikes now play Tintic at home on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Viking gym.
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