| Erik Buchmiller goes up strong for two. Buchmiller scored 16 in the game. |
“It was the best team effort this season. The defense was good and the offense was good.” Coach Bianco stated emphatically after the Dinos downed North Sanpete by 10 on Tuesday night. The team played strong throughout the game to walk away with a 61-51 victory over the Hawks.
The win puts them temporarily in sole possession of third place in region eight play. Emery takes on Delta tonight and a loss for them would let Carbon stay in the lead going into the Friday night showdown.
The Tuesday night game against North Sanpete began with the Dinos unable to hit a basket for the first five minutes of play. But once the offense shook off the dust, they got themselves rolling and were back in the game before the first quarter ended.
Up by two after the first period, they never looked back. They expanded their lead to nine by the break. The Hawks stepped it up a bit in the second half of play, but so did the Dinos. The best North Sanpete could do is not let the lead get much bigger. Several times they closed the gap to under 10, but each time the Dinos stepped it back up and took control.
Taking care of the ball and not wasting opportunities by turning over the ball let Carbon wear down a depleted North Sanpete squad.
“This was fun to watch, we had great momentum tonight,” noted Bianco, “Now if we can just carry this on for the rest of the season.”
Erik Buchmiller exploded for 16 points on the night. Joey Keller added 14 and Blake Najera contributed 10. Eight rebounds and four steals by Buchmiller were also crucial to the overall success of the night. Dustin Pollastro had a quiet night on the offensive side with a mere eight points, but he dished out five assists and had three steals as well.
The squad now prepares for a showdown against Emery on Friday at 7 p.m. in Castle Dale. Juan Diego will roll into town on Feb. 7 for the final home game of the season.