Steamboat Pilot & Today

The Soroco boys basketball team is in need of an attitude adjustment, coach Andy Smith said.

After dropping two straight league games by a combined total of 42 points, it has become apparent the Rams have grown disinterested in playing as a team and have taken on an individual approach.

"We don't want to run our offense, we don't want to hustle, and we don't want to play defense," Smith said. "That's an attitude we've got to get away from."

Paonia defeated Soroco in every way possible en route to a 66-36 win Saturday.

The Eagles dominated on both ends of the court, executing to near perfection offensively, while forcing countless Rams turnovers with quick hands and good positioning on defense.

Paonia is a running team, and Soroco couldn't keep up.

In the second half, the Rams hustled back on defense to try to slow the Eagles' transition game. When Soroco tried to slow the tempo, Paonia executed out of its half-court set with just as much ease.

"We are moving the ball well," Paonia coach Jeremy McCormick said. "We don't have one guy that wants to score all the points. They all want to pass it to the open guy."

In turn, senior Josh Swartzendruber, junior Chase Roeber and sophomore Mike Simpson each had 16 points, as Paonia mixed it up inside and from behind the arc.

Junior Tony Iacovetto scored 14 points for Soroco, but 11 of those came in the final quarter with a majority of Paonia's starters on the bench.

Seniors Jack Means and Matt Cartas had eight and seven points, respectively, for the Rams, as well.

Between Paonia's full-court press and Soroco's poor passes, the Rams struggled mightily to run their offense Saturday night.

When the ball was finally brought to the top and the offense started to move, one player would either take a forced shot or a quick one.

"We're not running our offense right now," Smith said.

Things didn't go much better for Soroco on Friday night against Plateau Valley. The Cowboys defeated the Rams, 58-46.

With the two loses over the weekend, Soroco falls to 4-8 overall and 1-4 in the Western Slope League.

The schedule doesn't ease up on the Rams, either. Soroco's next game is at 5:30 p.m. on Jan 30 at Rangely.