Boys hope to finish on top of Region 8
By TERRY WILLIS
Sun Advocate sports reporter
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| Carbon's Brett Johnson looks to unload the ball as he is surrounded by Delta players in last Wednesday's Region 8 contest that Carbon won 55-43. |
It seemed to be too good to be true. And it was.
After marching through the first half of the regular Region 8 season undefeated, it appeared the Carbon boys team might just head to the state playoffs with not a mark in the loss column since they were defeated by Canyon View in a preseason game on Dec. 22.
But on Friday night the Juan Diego Soaring Eagle's spoiled the perfection by jumping on the Dinos in a 49-20 beating in Draper. And in doing so they tied up Carbon with an identical 7-1 record to take over dual ownership of the league lead.
Both teams have two games left with Carbon having to face pesky North Sanpete (1-7) on Wednesday in Mount Pleasant and in conclusion third place Emery (5-3) at home.
But not all was lost last week. Initially the Dinos came away with a good win, one they needed against Delta with a 55-43 win.
The Rabbits were off and running in the first quarter but the Dinos were ready and took an early lead. They extended the lead to five as they went into the locker room.
Again the third quarter proved to be the key to the game as the Dinos outscored the Delta squad by eight.
Bryan Gazell led all scorers with 18 points on the game. Six of those points came from the double three pointers he hit. Also making the points from beyond the arc were Schyler Namanny, Chase Julian and Keith Barker.
Scoring contributions from several players off the bench assisted Carbon in remaining on top in Region 8 play.
With that game over all they needed was one more victory to seal up the region crown. But then came the Soaring Eagles who are also vying for the Region 8 title. With the home tables turned they were ready to take advantage.
The Carbon offense, that had been sharp all year long, was missing from this game. Juan Diego's defense ruled the night.
Namanny and Gazell led the team with a six points apiece, a low for high Dino scorers this year.
Turnovers also plagued the team as they allowed the Soaring Eagles to take the ball away 16 times.
Carbon was only able to put three points on the board in the final quarter of play to allow an already large lead to grow even more. It was the teams worst defeat of the season. Unless Juan Diego stumbles in their final games of the season, they own a bit of an edge over the Dinos with a better overall record. Both teams are tied at 7-1 in region play. Carbons overall record is now at 13-6 while the Soaring Eagles ring in at 16-3.
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