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Show rt r,- P A A (' " 6 O Q il fl (ik O A I, ? AS rt- - 7k.iu ir"4 s.,,,' -i m MEMBERS OF the Uintah High School wrestling team are: front row, left to right, Brad Dickson, David Giese, Josh Reynolds, Keith Campbell, Mark Augustus, Tracy Henline, Brett Brown, David Gentry, Brent Morrill, Shawn Colton, Jamie Evans, second se-cond row, Seymore Bedoni, Frank Atwood, Darrin Bailey, Jeff Good, Larson Caldwell, Kent Boren, Torr McCurdy, Jamie Crain, Chuck Henry, head coach and back row, Curg Belcher, assistant coach; Layne Chapman, Mike Massey, Scott Gardner, Russ Anderson, Brent Hales, Jody Young, Bucky Tingey, Pat Jenkins, Randy Smuin, Don Bohrer, Roger Griffin, David Weeks and Glen Ellsworth. VecnoS Panvfoers raev voirsv place The Vernal Junior High 9th Grade Panthers were behind by six points going into the fourth quarter, but they scored 16 points, held Roosevelt to seven counters and defeated the Rough Rider cagers 59 to 56, for first place in the Basin Tournament in Vernal, Feb. 17. The victory improved Vernal's record to 11 wins and 6 losses. Roosevelt jumped out to a 20 to 16 lead in the first quarter on ten points by Tracy Hall, four counters by Ronnie Mortensen and Mike Ross and two points by Stan Winward. Vernal fired in 17 points in the second quarter to cut Roosevelt's lead to one point, 33 to 32. Gary Swim and Kurt Robb tossed in six points for the Panthers Pan-thers in the second quarter and Marc Reynolds and Lloyd Merkley fired in two points. The Rough Riders tossed in 16 points in the third quarter and Vernal popped in 11 counters to make the score after three quarters, Roosevelt, 49 and Vernal, 43. Mortensen, Ross and Hall connected for two field goals each in the third quarter for Roosevelt. Roosevelt had a six point lead going into the fourth quarter, but that wasn't enough as Vernal struck for 16 points . and won the game by the score of 59 to 56. Robb blazed the net with eight points on four field goals for Vernal and Merkley, Swim scored three points in the fourth quarter. Reynolds fired in two free throws. Robb was the high scorer in the game ' with 23 points. He fired in 11 field goals and was one for one from the foul line. Also scoring points for Vernal were: Merkley, 16; Swim, 14; Reynolds, 4 and - Jimmy Hamilton, 2. Vernal fired in 23 field goals and hit 13 out of 19 free throws. Hall and Ross were the top scorers for Roosevelt with 17 points. Hall fired in six field goals and hit 5 out of 8 free throws. Robb put in seven field goals and hit 3 out of 5 free throws. Also scoring points for Roosevelt were: . Mortensen, 12; Windward, 6; Russ Nielsen, 2; Scott Wilson, 2 and Chad Richard, 2. "Our guys played some good ball. Roosevelt has a tough team. We feel -lucky to beat them. Roosevelt led most of the way. When it counted the Vernal athletes dug down and got it. Roosevelt was up by eight points at one time. It was a pretty tight game. We got the ball inside to Kurt Robb posting up and he scored eight points down the stretch when it counted. He got , tough when he needed to. We slowed the game down the last couple of minutes and we made our free throws and Roosevelt didn't. We put them in when we had to have them. Roosevelt missed some key free throws and field goals toward the end of the game. Reynolds was 2 for 2 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and Merkley, Swim hit some key free throws," stated Vernal Junior High hoop coach, Craig Monsen. Vernal advanced into the championship cham-pionship game when they toppled Altamont, 68 to 45, in the first round, the Panthers had an 18 to 12 lead after - one quarter of action and had a 34 to 22 lead at the end of the second quarter. The score at the end of the third quarter was: Vernal, 55 and Altamont, 33. Vernal fired in 13 points in the fourth quarter to win by 23 points. Robb was the number one scorer for the Panthers with 24 points on 12 field goals. Also scoring points for Vernal were: Merkley, 12; Swim, 11, Reynolds, 6; BradRichens, 4; Russell Ferguson, 4 and Kelly Sorenson, 4. Vernal fired in 29 field goals and hit 6 out of 14 free throws. The top scorer for Altamont was Rowley at 15 points. The Panthers nipped the Longhorns in a league game at Altamont, Feb. 12 by the score of 53 to 51. The score was tied at 10-10 after one quarter of action and Altamont had a 22 to 18 advantage at the end of the second quarter. The Longhorns were ahead by four points, 37 to 33, after three quarters of action. Rowley fired in seven points for the Longhorns in the third quarter. Vemal caught on fire in the fourth quarter as they erupted for 20 points and rallied to win the game by the score of 53 to 51. Robb was the top scorer in the fourth quarter for Vernal with eight points on four field goals. Swim was the top scorer in the game for Vernal with 11 points. Robb popped in ten points. Also scoring points for Vernal were: Sorenson, 9; Reynolds, 7; Merkley, 6; Kellogg, 4; Hamilton, 4 and Richens, 2. Vernal fired in 20 field goals and hit 13 out of 23 free throws. The top scorers for Altamont were Brotherson, 18 and Rowley, 14. "We are winning the close games now. That is the sign of a good team. We were losing the close games in the first part of the season," said Monsen. Vernal's 8th grade team placed first in a tournament at Roosevelt. Vernal downed Altamont and beat Roosevelt by seven points for first place. The Vernal 8th grade cagers finished the season undefeated. The Vernal Junior High 9th grade Panthers pocketed second place in the Craig Tournament, Saturday, when they were toppled by their arch-rivals, Roosevelt, 69 to 57, in the championship contest. Roosevelt had a 14 to 11 lead at the end of the first quarter and had a one-point one-point lead of 27 to 26 after two quarters of action. The Rough Riders had an eight point lead of 45 to 37 at the end of the third quarter. Vernal had a three point lead with 3 minutes remaining, but missed a couple of close-in shots and Roosevelt scored some points to go up by three counters. The Panthers began fouling Roosevelt to get the ball and the Rough Riders converted the charity tosses and won the game by the score of 69 to 57. Gary Swim was the top scorer in the game for Vernal with 17 points. Swim popped in six field goals and hit 5 out of 6 free throws. Lloyd Merkley fired in 16 points. He tossed in seven field goals and was 2 for 2 from the foul line. Also scoring points for Vernal were Tony Lewis, 8; Kurt Robb, 7; Jimmy Hamilton, 5; Kelly Sorenson, 3 and Brian Kellogg, 1. The Panthers tossed in 22 field goals and hit 13 out of 26 free throws. Roosevelt had five cagers in double figures. Tracy Hall tossed in 17 points and Chad Richard fired in 16 points. Scott Wilson put in 12 points and Mike Ross scored 11 points. Ronnie Mor-tenson Mor-tenson tossed in 11 points. Stan Win-ward Win-ward put in two points. Roosevelt fired in 28 field goals and put in 13 out of 20 free throws. The Rough Riders were 10 for 14 from the foul line in the fourth . quarter. Hall and Winward were 2 for 2 in the fourth quarter. Richard was 2 for 3 and Mortensen was 3 for 5 in the free throw shooting department in the fourth quarter. "We (Vernal) beat West Grand of Kremmling, 74 to 72 and beat Rifle, the team which was picked to win the tournament. We played well, but Roosevelt played better. Roosevelt had a bye the first night and then beat Craig, but you have to hand it to them. They played a good ball game. Our kids ran out of gas in the final three minutes. Roosevelt played super defense and shut Robb down," stated Vernal Junior High hoop coach, Craig Monsen. Gary Swim, Lloyd Merkley, Vernal; Mike Ross, Roosevelt; Lewis Coghill, Craig; Boe, Rifle and Culbreath, West Grand were named to the all tourney team. West Grand had leads of 20-12, first quarter; 36 to 24, second quarter and 57 to 46, third quarter, but Vernal rallied in the fourth quarter as they outscored West Grand, 28 to 15, to win the game, 74 to 72. Robb was the top scorer for Vernal in the fourth quarter with 11 points on five field goals and one free throw. Robb was the top scorer in the game for Vernal with 29 points on 13 field goals and three free throws. Also scoring points for Vernal were: Swim, 15; Lewis, 12; Merkley, 5; Brad Richens, 4; Marc Reynolds, 4; Hamilton, 3 and Kellogg, 2. West Grand's top scorer was Culbreath at 16 points. Vernal downed Rifle, 73 to 63, in the second round. The scores by quarters were: Vemal, 26 and Rifle, 14, first quarter; Vemal, 43 and Rifle, 27, second quarter; Vernal, 69 and Rifle, 45, third quarter and Vemal, 73 and Rifle, 63, fourth quarter. Merkley fired in 26 points for the Panthers on 11 field goals and four free throws. Also scoring points for Vernal were Lewis, 18; Robb, 15; Swim, 12 and Hamilton, 1. Rifle's top scorers were Boe and Beecraft at 14 points. The Panthers ended the season with 13 wins and 7 losses and had a seven game winning streak going into the championship game in the Craig Tournament. "We were 13 and 3 after Christmas. We lost the close games in the early part of the season, but won all the close games toward the end of the season. Our most improved players have been Jimmy Hamilton, Marc Reynolds, Kelly Sorenson and Brad Richens," remarked Monsen. Robb scored 302 points and had an average of 15.1. Merkley scored 277 points and had an average of 13.8. Swim scored 254 points and had a 14.1 average. |