| Bryan Stewart has displayed fine ball handling skills this season and is expected to return next year to play for the Dinos. Stewart lead the Dinos in scoring in their final game of the year by posting 16 points against Wasatch. |
The Carbon High Dinos boys basketball team struggled to chalk up their first victory. The win didn’t come until the final week of the regular season when the Dinos captured two straight wins which kept their playoff hopes alive.
In order to find themselves in the mix of things for the state finals later this week, the Dinos would have to defeat the Wasatch Wasps in a road game last Friday.
In the preseason, the Dinos had defeated the Wasps. With this in mind, the Carbon squad entered the match up filled with confidence.
Unfortunately, the Wasps made sure that the Dinos did not walk away with another victory this year.
The Wasps opened up strong against the Dinos as they outscored Carbon, 21-10 in the first quarter of play. The Dinos struggled from here on out to gain control of the leader board.
With only eight minutes left in the ball game, the Dinos blew the doors wide open and launched a comeback by outscoring Wasatch, 26-13.
This would not be enough for the Dinos to win the important game however. The team from Carbon High was forced out of the 3A state finals by the final score of 80-62.
Bryan Stewart lead the Dinos in scoring with 16 points. All but one point was made from the three-point line by Stewart who concluded the season with an incredible performance.
Following in scoring was Joe Moynier and Neal Maynes who each scored 14 points.
“Wasatch is a big team and I think they were gunning for us. It’s a difficult loss considering the consequences of not advancing to state. Regardless, these kids played well all season. They each played with enthusiasm and added a long lost tradition to the basketball program here at Carbon,” explained Dino’s head coach, Ted Bianco.
With this year’s team being quite young, next season should be yet another year filled with excitement.
Expected to return next year are Stewart and Brandon Manzanares who each contributed strong to this years team. Next year should find the Dinos on top of their game and building on a tradition which stemmed from this year’s talented team.
As the record book comes to a close for the Dinos, the memories will live on about the dedication and determination which this team has shown throughout the year.