Steamboat Today: Soroco boys' loss to Rangely ends season

Archive for Sunday, February 22, 2009

Photo by Matt Stensland

Soroco High School junior Cody Miles puts up a shot during the first half of Saturday's game against Rangely.

By Mike Lawrence Sunday, February 22, 2009

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Photo by Matt Stensland

Soroco High School senior Bobby Mason puts up a shot during the first half of Saturday's game against Rangely.

Soroco boys basketball, 2008-09

Dec. 2, Soroco 73, Moffat County J.V. 53; (1-0, 0-0)
Dec. 5, Soroco 72, Clear Creek 36 at West Grand Tournament; (2-0)
Dec. 6, Soroco 51, West Grand 32 at West Grand Tournament; (3-0)
Dec. 9, Soroco 46, Steamboat J.V. 41; (4-0)
Dec. 13, Soroco 58, Vail Christian 45; (5-0)
Dec. 18, Hayden 63, Soroco 54; (5-1)
4 p.m. Dec. 20 vs. North Park
Jan. 10, Soroco 74, Rangely 71; (7-1)
Jan. 15, Soroco 64, Moffat County J.V. 46; (8-1)
Jan. 16, Soroco58, North Park 21;(9-1)
Jan. 23, Soroco 74, De Beque 59;(10-1)
Jan. 24, Meeker 69, Soroco 54;(10-2)
Jan. 30, Plateau Valley 60, Soroco 44; (10-3)
Feb. 6, Soroco 49, West Grand 30;(11-3)
Feb. 7, Soroco 79, Paonia 66;(12-3)
Feb. 13, Hayden 47, Soroco 42;(13-3)
Feb. 14, Soroco 62, Vail Christian 42;(14-3)
Feb. 21 district play begins
Feb. 27-28 districts at Meeker

Steamboat Springs — It didn't end the way the players wanted, but it was a remarkable season nonetheless for the Soroco High School boys basketball team.

Rangely beat Soroco, 65-49, on Saturday in Oak Creek, Soroco athletic director and team assistant coach Andy Johnson said. The season-ending game saw the Rams struggle with shooting and ball-handling against the Panthers, a squad Soroco defeated earlier this season.

"It wasn't our best effort today, for sure," Johnson said. "Rangely came out and put a lot of pressure on us in the half-court, and we didn't handle the ball real well - and they came out shooting the ball pretty well, and we didn't."

The loss dropped Soroco to 13-5 on the season, which, despite Saturday's result, is a remarkable turnaround for a team that finished 3-15 a year ago.

"We had a great year in that respect," Johnson said. "It was successful, for sure, but it would have been nice to be going on."

Johnson said senior Ryan Tibbetts, a dominant force for the Rams all season, led Soroco on Saturday with 17 points. Junior Cody Miles put in 16.

Junior Alex Estes said the game was a frustrating, seesaw battle.

"The end of the first half, we were down by like eight, but by the end of the third quarter, we got to within two," Estes said. "We'd come back, and they'd pull away; we'd come back, and they'd pull away."

Johnson said Estes and Miles, along with junior Matt Watwood, should form a solid core of players for the Rams next season, when all three will be seniors.

Estes had mixed feelings about the season after Saturday's loss.

"It was definitely good and something Soroco hasn't done in a long time. : We did a lot of things that other Soroco teams couldn't do," he said. "Overall, it was really good, but I didn't want it to end like that."