Steamboat Pilot & Today

Oak Creek — For those unable to witness just how good the Meeker boys basketball team is, let Soroco boys coach Sam McLeod explain. 

“They’re long, they can jump and they don’t make mistakes,” said McLeod, whose team lost to Meeker, 70-43, on Saturday. “They don’t turn the ball over. They don’t miss open shots. They can score in and out. They just grind you down.

“They aren’t the most athletic or fast. But there aren’t any other teams that take every possession and do the right thing.”

All that was evident Saturday. 

After Soroco kept within striking distance in the first quarter, trailing just 14-10, Meeker blew it open in the second. The Cowboys opened the quarter on a 14-2 run, including hitting four of their 10 3-pointers to extend the lead to 28-12. 

From there, it was all but over. 

“You can’t look up at the scoreboard and measure that’s how you did,” McLeod said. “We continue to not be able to shoot the ball but we play hard.”

The Rams were led by 10 points from Nic Paxton. The team next plays at 6:30 p.m. Friday at DeBeque. 

By the numbers

Meeker boys 73, Soroco 40 

Meeker — Cooper Smith 7 2-2 20, Scott Smith 5 1-3 11, Trey Morris 5 0-0 14, Gable Smith 6 0-1 12, Dylan Mobley 0 0-0 0, Kevin Eli 0 0-0 0, Raul Lopez 2 0-0 6, Jeremy Musgrave 2 1-1 5, Ben Fitzgibbons 0 0-0 0, Jake Phelan 0 0-1 0, Alex Smith 0 1-2 1, Toby Casias 1 0-0 2, Tala Atoafa 1 0-0 2, Nate Walsh 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 5-12 73. 

Soroco — Matthew Regan 3 0-0 6, AJ Anderson 2 2-4 6, Cody McCollum 1 2-2 4, Charley Fitzhugh 0 0-2 0, Nic Paxton 4 1-2 10, Ryan Jeep 3 1-1 7, Keenan Bradshaw 1 0-0 3, Brandyn Leu 2 0-0 4, Bjorn Carlson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-11 40. 

3-point shots: Meeker (10) — Cooper Smith 4, Trey Morris 4, Lopez 2. Soroco (2) — Paxton, Bradshaw. 

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com