| Dustin Pollastro and Joey Keller pull in a rebound in an earlier game. |
Making it to the playoffs, the Dinos found themselves facing Region 11 first place team Bear River. Knowing it would be an up hill battle to overcome the Bears, Carbon wasnt surprised when they made a quick exit from post season play. Bear River overpowered the Dinos with an 84-50 win
The Dinos held their own in the first quarter with a 21 point effort. Bear River was just a point ahead at that stage of the game. It was late in the second quarter where the game got away from the Dinos. Fatigue began to set in for the Carbon players and the stronger Bears went on a run for the final 2-3 minute stretch. The Dinos struggled with their shooting and were held to only eight while Bear River continued to pile on the points and by half had opened up a 16 point gap.
After the break Carbon slowed down the Bears, but werent able to make any head way into closing the deficit. In the fourth, Bear River put the game away as they out scored the Dinos by 17 points.
Zac Jones had a good outside game going with 14 points on the night. He hit four three point shots. Dustin Pollastro and Erik Buchmiller added eight each while Cole Warburton stuck in seven. Coach Bianco was disappointed by the early exit, but was proud of the effort his team gave against one of the states power teams. They were a very good team and we hung with them through most of the first half. Then their (Bear River) athleticism took over and they ran away with it.
Looking ahead, Bianco knows that many of his young players got the opportunity to pick up a lot of experience this year. Whether or not it translates into a better team though, will depend on the attitudes and work ethic of the returning players. He is hoping that they will work hard in the off season and over the summer to improve on what they gained this season. He summed it up to say, Despite the up and down year we had, the players finished strong and left it all on the floor. It was nice to see them step up and make the final game a priority to the end.