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Glenwood Springs boys fall short in 4A hoops league play against Eagle Valley

Mike Vidakovich
Special to the Post Independent
Glenwood Springs junior Reece McMillan looks for two over the Eagle Valley defense in the Demons’ 63-56 loss to the Devils Thursday, Feb. 10 at Chavez-Spencer Gymnasium.
Mary Heisel/Courtesy photo

After being in control for a good portion of the game, the Glenwood Springs High School boys basketball team hit a fourth quarter scoring lull and dropped a critical 4A Western Slope League game to Eagle Valley 63-56 on Thursday night at the Chavez-Spencer Gym.

Eagle Valley, which came into the game tied for second place in the WSL with Palisade, managed to bottle up Demon senior post player Bryson McClain in the second half after McClain had dropped in 12 first-half points to keep Glenwood in a closely contested affair.

Glenwood jumped out to a lead of 17-13 after the first period of play. Helping out McClain in the early going was junior guard Reece McMillan who hit a couple of long 3-pointers, and senior guard Reid Swanson who hit one from beyond the arc also.



The Devils had a few sharpshooters of their own, though. Guards Brian Martinez and Brandon Vigil kept Eagle Valley running stride for stride with Glenwood, consistently knocking down mid-range jumpers to help their team take back the lead 33-32 at intermission.



With McClain drawing a host of Devils his way each time he touched the ball, it was up to McMillan and Swanson to shoulder the Demon scoring burden in the second half. Glenwood managed its biggest lead of the game at 38-33, but Vigil got hot near the end of the third frame, pulling the Devils to within 46-45 with eight minutes to play.

Glenwood junior guard Erick Cordero notched a 3-pointer, but the Demons, plagued by turnovers and a cold shooting stretch, could not keep pace with the Devils who moved to 7-2 in WSL play and 15-5 overall.

“We hit a spell in that fourth quarter where we went cold and we had five possessions in a row where we didn’t get a shot,” Demons coach Fred Heisel said. “We had our chances there at the end, but we got into a situation where we had to foul, and they made their free throws.”

The Demons (7-13, 4-5 WSL) were paced by McMillan with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. McClain ended the night with 12 points and Swanson finished with 11 points.

Things don’t get easier for the Demons, with a trip to league-leading Steamboat Springs looming on Saturday afternoon.

In the opening game of Thursday’s hoops doubleheader, the Glenwood girls continued to encounter little resistance from WSL foes, trouncing Eagle Valley 64-21.

The Lady Demons used a 19-point scoring run that spanned parts of the second and third quarter to put the Devils in the rear view mirror for good. A strong third quarter defensive performance by Glenwood, holding Eagle Valley to just 1 point, was also a major factor in the win.

Glenwood was led in scoring by senior guard Sophia Prieto who hit a career high 16 points. Junior guard Joslyn Spires had 14 points. Senior Kenzie Winder and junior Mattea Enewold each had eight points.

The Glenwood girls (14-6, 9-0 WSL) continue their undefeated march through league play with another WSL game on tap for Saturday afternoon in Steamboat.

Tuesday hoops recaps

Rifle teams split with Summit

Playing at home Tuesday night, it was the Rifle boys 61-41 over Summit, and the visiting Tigers 30-26 over the Lady Bears.

The boys jumped out to a 26-12 halftime lead and kept the pace throughout to earn the 4A Western Slope League win, improving to 6-11 overall and 2-6 in the league.

Rifle’s girls were in a tight one through three quarters, down 19-18, but Summit outscored the Bears 11-8 in the final stanza to hold on for the win. The Lady Bears stand even at 9-9 on the season, with a 2-6 league mark.

The Bears teams host west Garfield County rival Grand Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Bulldogs over Rams

The Roaring Fork Rams of Carbondale hosted Moffat County Tuesday, with the Bulldogs scoring 3A Western Slope League wins in both contests, 78-57 for the boys and 66-43 for the girls. The Roaring Fork boys fall to 5-12 on the season and 2-5 in league, while the girls go to 4-14 and 1-5.

The Rams teams are at home against league foe Coal Ridge on Saturday evening, with the girls squaring off at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7. It’s the final game of the season for the Roaring Fork girls, while the boys travel to play league-leading Aspen on Tuesday.

The Coal Ridge boys (7-9, 2-3) were in non-conference solo action Tuesday at Middle Park, losing 66-53 to the Panthers.

Coal Ridge’s boys and girls host Grand Valley Tuesday, Feb. 15, where the girls in particular will be playing for all-important postseason positioning. The Lady Titans enter the weekend at 11-4 overall and 3-2 in the 3A league, and the Lady Cardinals stand at 12-3 and 3-1. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. for the girls and 7 p.m. for the boys.

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud contributed to this report. He can be reached at jstroud@postindependent.com.


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