The GCMS Thunderbirds boys basketball team brought home some more hardware, winning the Thunderbirds Winter Shootout in Moab with a 6-0 record.
The game was capped off by a 47-43 victory in the tournament finals on Saturday night, Feb. 7 over the Gallup Lobos, led by Cam Hoppensteadt’s 22 points.
“(The shootout) displayed great competition from all over western Colorado, southeastern Utah and northern Uintah County,” coach Conrad Yanito said.
The tournament began with pool play on Friday, Feb. 6, which saw the T-Birds pick up victories over Colorado teams Montrose, Glenwood Springs and Cortez, earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in tournament play.
In the tournament, the T-Birds again defeated Glenwood Springs in the quarterfinals, then defeated the Blanding Mustangs to advance to the finals against the upset-minded sixth-seed Gallup Lobos from New Mexico.
“We knew we had our hands full with the Lobos,” Yanito said. “They had great shooters and ran the floor well.”
Yanito said the game lived up to the hype.
“Both teams were shooting very well in the tournament, so that meant one of the teams had to play their very best defense,” he said.
The T-Birds have one season game remaining in February and are scheduled to play two tournaments in March. The varsity team boasts a 36-4 record, while the JV record is 24-8.
The T-Birds were scheduled to play Pinnacle in Price on Tuesday, February 10. Their next game is Wednesday, Feb. 18 versus Mont Harmon in Price. They’re also scheduled to play tournaments in Glenwood Springs, Colorado on March 13-15, and in Richfield on March 20 and 21.
Middle school team looks to finish strong with two tourneys in March
We knew we had our hands full with the Lobos. They had great shooters and ran the floor well.
