Cavemen open with big victory in boys hoops
The American Fork boys basketball team jumped out early and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the contest as the Cavemen topped Carbon 66-48 Tuesday night at home in the season opener for both squads.
The Dinos figure to be a competitive team in Class 3A, but they couldn’t match American Fork’s size.
However, they gave impressive effort throughout the contest and eventually showed some of the talent they were expected to have, especially in the second half.
Both teams looked pretty ragged in the initial period, as would be expected for the first game. The Cavemen settled in quicker, however, and earned an 11-4 lead by the end.
American Fork built on that by outscoring the visitors 25-16 in the second quarter to take a 36-20 lead into the break.
Carbon played much better in the second half and finally got some shots to go down after missing a number from close range earlier in the evening.
Their speed and ball movement showed real promise, but they could not overcome the big deficit, though they did cut it to single digits a couple of times with mini-runs.
“The best thing about this game is, it’s over,” said Caveman coach Doug Meacham. “We were able to play a lot of different guys and expose the things we need to work on. That’s what these preseason games are for.”
Meacham said a big part of this time of year is players learning to adjust to how the action is being managed.
“Games in the preseason often include early whistles,” he explained. “When you don’t blow them much in practice, that’s an adjustment.”
This was a particular challenge for junior center Ryan Andrus, who got his second foul when the contest was just 2:20 old.
He sat the rest of the period. He started the second quarter but then drew a third foul at the 6:36 mark that forced him to the bench again. However, he managed to play much of the second half without fouling out.
“Ryan’s going to be fine,” Meacham said. “He needs to recognize that he’s going to be double- and triple-teamed all year. He’s become more aggressive, which is what we want, but he still needs to learn to take what the game gives him.”
The coach was pleased with the initial performance of senior point guard Christian Wells.
“When he looks to get us in our offense and plays within himself, he’s a really solid point guard,” Meacham said.
Wells and Andrus led the Cavemen with 12 points apiece. Despite his limited minutes, Andrus had a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Senior center Tyler Rawson grabbed 11 boards.
For Carbon, point guard Dakota Cisneros added a great floor game to 14 points, and forward Derek Young netted 13.
For their next contests, the Cavemen (1-0) host Bountiful (1-0) on Nov. 30, while the Dinos (0-1) welcome Emery (1-0) on Tuesday. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BeatonWrite.
American Fork 66, Carbon 48
Carbon (48)
Blackburn 2, G. Blanc 8, J. Blanc 6, Cisneros 14, Fossat 5, Young 13. Totals 17 13-26 48.
American Fork (66)
Gibb 2, Nyman 6, Wells 12, Bailey 4, Line 8, Andrus 12, Larson 9, Rawson 5, Childs 8. Totals 24 15-19 66.
Carbon 4 16 12 16 48
American Fork 11 25 15 15 66
3 point goals: Carbon 1 (Fossat); American Fork 3 (Line 2, Wells).
Cavemen open with big victory in boys hoops
The American Fork boys basketball team jumped out early and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the contest as the Cavemen topped Carbon 66-48 Tuesday night at home in the season opener for both squads.
The Dinos figure to be a competitive team in Class 3A, but they couldn’t match American Fork’s size.
However, they gave impressive effort throughout the contest and eventually showed some of the talent they were expected to have, especially in the second half.
Both teams looked pretty ragged in the initial period, as would be expected for the first game. The Cavemen settled in quicker, however, and earned an 11-4 lead by the end.
American Fork built on that by outscoring the visitors 25-16 in the second quarter to take a 36-20 lead into the break.
Carbon played much better in the second half and finally got some shots to go down after missing a number from close range earlier in the evening.
Their speed and ball movement showed real promise, but they could not overcome the big deficit, though they did cut it to single digits a couple of times with mini-runs.
“The best thing about this game is, it’s over,” said Caveman coach Doug Meacham. “We were able to play a lot of different guys and expose the things we need to work on. That’s what these preseason games are for.”
Meacham said a big part of this time of year is players learning to adjust to how the action is being managed.
“Games in the preseason often include early whistles,” he explained. “When you don’t blow them much in practice, that’s an adjustment.”
This was a particular challenge for junior center Ryan Andrus, who got his second foul when the contest was just 2:20 old.
He sat the rest of the period. He started the second quarter but then drew a third foul at the 6:36 mark that forced him to the bench again. However, he managed to play much of the second half without fouling out.
“Ryan’s going to be fine,” Meacham said. “He needs to recognize that he’s going to be double- and triple-teamed all year. He’s become more aggressive, which is what we want, but he still needs to learn to take what the game gives him.”
The coach was pleased with the initial performance of senior point guard Christian Wells.
“When he looks to get us in our offense and plays within himself, he’s a really solid point guard,” Meacham said.
Wells and Andrus led the Cavemen with 12 points apiece. Despite his limited minutes, Andrus had a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Senior center Tyler Rawson grabbed 11 boards.
For Carbon, point guard Dakota Cisneros added a great floor game to 14 points, and forward Derek Young netted 13.
For their next contests, the Cavemen (1-0) host Bountiful (1-0) on Nov. 30, while the Dinos (0-1) welcome Emery (1-0) on Tuesday. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BeatonWrite.
American Fork 66, Carbon 48
Carbon (48)
Blackburn 2, G. Blanc 8, J. Blanc 6, Cisneros 14, Fossat 5, Young 13. Totals 17 13-26 48.
American Fork (66)
Gibb 2, Nyman 6, Wells 12, Bailey 4, Line 8, Andrus 12, Larson 9, Rawson 5, Childs 8. Totals 24 15-19 66.
Carbon 4 16 12 16 48
American Fork 11 25 15 15 66
3 point goals: Carbon 1 (Fossat); American Fork 3 (Line 2, Wells).