| Kaleb Fail goes up for the shot. |
Pirates enjoy 4-day run at State
The Green River Pirates would have liked to finish their season with at least one more victory but it just wasn’t to be. After suffering a last minute defeat on opening day, okay it was a last two minute defeat, the Pirates got two convincing wins on Thursday and Friday before losing on a shot at the buzzer on Saturday. In spite of the losses, the mostly junior basketball team still had a successful tournament and now looks forward to a great year next season.
Green River lost the Wednesday game 53-51 to Rich. Rich took their first lead of the game with two minutes left in the game and then eked out the win. Green River led by 7 points at the half and by 6 points at the end of three quarters. Rich outscored the Pirates 23-15 in that final period.
Green River won Thursday’s game 56-40 over Dugway. Green River led by only 1 point at the half before finishing the game with two big second half quarters to ice the game.
On Friday, Green River took a 15-6 first quarter lead over Wayne and then hung on for the win. Wayne battled back but the Pirates would never let them get close enough to snatch away a win. Green River hit 12 of 19 free throws in the final period to get the win.
| Kaden Robertson tries to make his way into the key while being defended at state. |
After grabbing a first quarter lead of 20-7 over Layton Christian on Saturday, Green River failed to stop their opponent from having two big final quarters to snare the victory. Green River was outscored 19-10 in the third period and 17-10 in the final period. Layton Christian scored their last bucket with 1 second left on the clock to grab the lead and the win.
Kaden Robertson led the team in scoring in the tournament with a 17.5-point average. Robertson had 13, 22, 18 and 17 points in the four games. He also had 4 three-pointers in the tourney.
Kaleb Fail also had a good tournament as he finished with 16.25-point average over the four games. Fail had games of 21, 14, 16 and 14 points. Kaleb also led the team with 8 three-pointers. He had three in the Wednesday game and at least one in every game.
Brent Johnson finished with 11.25 average. He scored 17 points on Friday for his best game. His other games were 8, 14 and 6 points.
Also scoring in the tournament were Jace Vetere and Brennan Bigelow with 11 points, Adrian Lucero with 10 points and Weston Vetere with 5 points.
The Pirates finished the season as region champs and had a total record of 13-10. With all their leading scorers back and now knowing how close they came in their two losses, the Pirates should be optimistic that they can build on their successful season this year into something even bigger and better next year.