Cowboys Fall Short of State

North Gem played for third place in the Rocky Mountain Conference last Wednesday.  The Cowboys hosted the Mustangs from Leadore.  The Cowboys got off to a hot start, grabbing an 11-0 early lead.  As the first quarter wound down, Leadore would do their best to get into the game and the first would end with North Gem leading 16-10.  In the second, the hot Cowboy offense would slow down a little and the Mustangs would make some big shots as the lead would be cut to just three.  The lead would hang around three points when at the halftime buzzer the Cowboys would hit a jumper and take a 27-22 lead into the locker room. 

 In the third the Mustangs outrebounded the Cowboys but the North Gem offense would pick back up.  The concern now was with the foul trouble that Yost and Setser faced as the Cowboys leading ball handlers.  The quarter would end with North Gem leading 45-36.  The foul trouble would continue for the Cowboys and the game would get a little sloppy by both teams.  About halfway through the fourth the Cowboys would once again turn on the offense and their lead would continue to extend.  After several made foul shots and a three point shot late in the game the Cowboys would come out victorious winning 65-46.  With the victory, North Gem would clinch the third place spot in the conference earning them the chance to go to a play-in game that could take them to state.  

With the conference win, the Cowboys would now take the 370 mile trip to Cascade to take part in a play-in game for the right to go to the state tournament.  Their opponent in this contest was the Clark Fork Wampus Cats.  Clark Fork are the winners from the North Star league and came into the contest with a 12-6 record.  As things got underway both teams started off a little slow offensively.  North Gem struggled from the outside shooting and the Clark Fork size inside limited the Cowboy production under the basket.  The scoring was tight at the end of the first with a score of 11-9 in favor of the Wampus Cats.  The Cowboys would come out in the second and hit a quick three point shot and temporarily take the lead.  The score would continue to stay close throughout the second.  With less than one minute left in the quarter Clark Fork would score seven points and take a 30-21 lead into
the half.  

The Wampus Cats would take that momentum into the third.  With some Cowboy mistakes combined with hot shooting the Wampus Cats would extend the lead to fourteen.  The Cowboys would settle things down a little in the later part of the quarter but would enter the fourth still trailing 42-32.  The fourth quarter would be disastrous for the Cowboy offense.  With the Clark Fork advantage in size and the cold outside shooting of the Cowboys the deficit would increase.  With under three minutes left in the game Cark Fork would begin to work the clock making it increasingly harder for a Cowboy comeback.  When North Gem would get offensive opportunities they would rush and force some ill advised shots.  With time winding down it became evident that the Cowboys would come up short in this one.  North Gem would finish the game by subbing in all of their senior players giving them one last opportunity to wear the Cowboy uniform.  As the final buzzer sounded North Gem would be defeated 60-37.  The seniors were able to finish their careers on the court and can look back on their time with fondness.