Photo by Joel Reichenberger
Hayden senior Justin Moon puts up a shot Friday against Meeker. The Tigers won the game, 60-50.
Hayden boys basketball plays strong even without top player
Tigers win against Cowboys, 60-50
Saturday, January 8, 2011
2010-11 Tigers boys basketball schedule
- Dec. 9 to 11 Meeker Tournament:
- Dec. 9: Hayden 69, Mancos 45
- Dec. 10: Grand Valley 41, Hayden 38
- Dec. 11: Hayden 63, Meeker 50
- Dec. 17: Hayden 57, North Park 35
- Jan. 7: Hayden 60, Meeker 50
- Jan. 11: Hayden 80, Vail Christian 70
- Jan. 14: Hayden 67, West Grand 44
- Jan. 15: Hayden 77, North Park 45
- Jan. 21: Hayden 83, DeBeque 36
- Jan. 28: Hayden 59, Soroco 44
- Jan. 29: Hayden 66, Rangely 42
- Feb. 1: Hayden 78, Vail Christian 54
- Feb. 4: Hayden 63, Plateau Valley 52
- Feb. 5: Hayden 77, Paonia 65
- Feb. 8: Hayden 84, Vail Mountain 41
- Feb. 11: Hayden 65, Soroco 46
- Feb. 12: West Grand 53, Hayden 52
- Feb. 15: Little Snake River 60, Hayden 43
- Feb. 18: Hayden 69, Vail Mountain 45
- Feb. 25 and 26: District tournament
Steamboat Springs — It’s not that the Hayden High School boys basketball team wants to play the rest of its games without Ben Williams, a senior and one of the team’s most experienced and talented players.
It’s just that the team took a lot of pride Friday in the fact that it was forced to do just that, and it still came out with a win against a tough rival.
Williams missed the game because of a college baseball workshop, but the Tigers got hot late to beat Meeker, 60-50, relying on a few players who stepped up and a huge game from Graig Medvesk.
“It was hustle. We just out-hustled them,” Medvesk said. “We wanted to win more than they did.”
Medvesk finished with 25 points, overcoming a Meeker defense that seemed intent on limiting his influence.
He faced a box-and-one defense for much of the game but showed early that wasn’t going to be effective, dribbling the ball down the court and pulling up from three feet behind the 3-point arch to bury a shot.
Medvesk hit another big 3-point shot in the third quarter to keep Meeker at bay and then laid in another basket after a steal. It was Hunter Johnston’s big baskets late in the game that helped finish the Cowboys, however.
Medvesk passed to Johnston after a steal for an easy basket to give Hayden a 52-50 lead with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining. Johnston then scored twice right under the hoop, drawing fouls on each play. He missed both free throws, but the late points helped tip the scale.
“Any win tonight was going to be a good win,” Hayden coach Mike Luppes said.
Johnston finished with 10 points. Mark Doolin had 9, Dayton Dowling and Jorge Valdez each had 6 and Justin Moon scored 4 for the Tigers.
The team, 4-1, returns to action Tuesday with a road trip to Vail Christian.
HAYDEN BOYS 60, MEEKER 50
Meeker 16-6-17-11 — 50
Hayden 16-11-16-17 — 60
Meeker — Trey Morris 2 0-0 5, Dylan Mobley 2 0-0 5, Jake Nieslanik 6 1-7 15, Cole Steiner 5 3-5 13, Ryan Wix 6 0-0 12. Totals 21 4-12 50.
Hayden — Hunter Johnston 5 0-2 10, Dayton Dowling 2 0-0 6, Graig Medvesk 9 5-6 25, Jorge Valdez 3 0-1 6, Mark Doolin 4 0-0 9, Justin Moon 2 0-3 4. Totals 25 5-12 60.
3-pointers: Meeker (4) — Nieslanik 2, Molbey, Morris. Hayden (3) — Medvesk 2, Doolin.
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