Twin towers' role slows

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Following the girls’ trend of doing the splits during the weekend, the Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow boys basketball team lost to Farson-Eden 48-46 and prevailed against Cokeville, 63-51.

The Farson-Eden game was neck and neck at halftime with the Miners leading by one. HEM managed to pull ahead of Farson-Eden, 41-31, with four minutes left. Thinking the game was won, the Miners lost control in those last four minutes. “They just watched it slip away,” coach Clif Jones said.

Farson-Eden sunk a 3-pointer with six seconds left to tie the game. Each team went to the line for free throws in those final seconds, and Farson-Eden simply came out on top, Jones said.
“Mentally, we weren’t ready to play. It has happened before,” Jones said. He did not blame the road delays. Instead, he said it would be something the team would continue to work on as the regional tournament approaches.

Still, Jones had a good show from a few of his players. Justin Palm went up for 14 points and 11 rebounds. “It was a quiet double-double,” Jones said. “We didn’t really realize he was there at times.”

Charlie George, still making a few freshman mistakes, braved the basket and sunk 12 points for the team. It was his second game in double figures. Mitch Long put up six points while Kalter Blauvelt had four.

The weekend generally saw more balanced shooting from the team. Jones said the Palm-Matt Larson duo has become less of a crutch for the team. They previously put up 50 percent of the baskets and now, their scoring is reduced to 30 percent.

Against Cokeville, the Miners were leading by 13 in the fourth quarter when their opponents stepped it up to close the gap to five. Jones called a time-out, reminding his team that the game wasn’t over. “(HEM) jumped back in there to get back to a 10-point lead,” Jones said.

Palm again led the pack with 24 points and 11 rebounds. The guards and wings successfully got the ball to him so he could work his magic. Larson, with 10 points and 10 boards, and Blauvelt, 11 points and eight rebounds, were close behind Palm. George put up eight points and had six assists.

Ryan Puckett, the 12th man on the bench, stepped onto the court for a few minutes in the first half to help keep the lead players out of foul trouble. He nailed a 3-pointer and left the court with a steal.

“This is the first year we’ve swept Cokeville (since the 1970s),” Jones said. The teams have split for the last three years. Jones hopes the wins reveal a positive trend for the HEM basketball program.