Grizzly Loss Raises Questions

The Grace Grizzlies hosted the Bear Lake Bears last Saturday night inside the Grizzly Den in Grace.  The Grizzlies entered the contest with just a 1-1 record while the Bears had already played four games but had not yet secured a win.  Based not only on their records but also on previous years match ups and returning players conventional wisdom would say the Grizzlies would be favored in this game.  However, nearly every time these two school’s boys teams have met on the hardwood in recent years the games have always been competitive with several of them going into overtime.  Saturday night’s game would hold true to that trend and go right down to the wire.

The Grizzlies got off to a great start particularly their six five senior Parker Yost who put up eight first quarter points.  Grace would also hit a pair of three point shots coming from Bodee Smith and Gavin Draper.  When the first quarter ended the Grizzlies led by six points.  In the second quarter Yost was able to add five more points to his total but the rest of the Grizzlies cooled off on offense.  Meanwhile the Bears were able to stay in the game and cut into the lead by way of the foul line.  The Grizzlies sent the Bears to the line eight times in the first half and Bear Lake was able to make six of those shots.  The Bears were able to outscore the Grizzlies in the second quarter of play and the Grace lead was cut to just three points at the halftime break.  As the third quarter got underway Bear Lake grabbed the momentum and the lead early on.  A pair of three point shots as well as a successful and one gave the Bears a six point lead.  Yost went back to work and added eight more points to his running total but got very little help from the rest of the team.  Yost’s eight points along with a handful of foul shots by Grace was enough to tie the game back up at the end of the third quarter.  In the fourth quarter the Grizzlies seemed to switch strategy as they began to look more for the outside shot.  Grace sophomore Carter Mecham hit a pair of three point shots and Bodee Smith added another.  However, settling for the outside shot left their leading scorer Yost scoreless in the quarter and as regulation time ended the two teams had matched scores once again forcing an overtime period.  The Bears struck first in the overtime period and quickly jumped out to a two possession lead.  That lead would hold for most of the extra time.  In the closing seconds with the Grizzlies still trailing by four Bodee Smith would hit his third three point shot of the game cutting the lead to just one point.  Coach Rory Lloyd would quickly call a timeout but he had no timeouts remaining.  This crucial coaching error cost the Grizzlies a technical foul and with just two seconds remaining in the game almost certainly sealed their fate.  The Bears did go on to miss both technical foul shots and the Grizzlies quickly committed a foul on the ensuing inbound.  Now just one second remained and the Bears were back at the line.  Bear Lake’s shooter missed the first shot and then following a final Bears timeout he would intentionally miss the second shot and the Grace full court heave at the buzzer was well off target.  The Grizzlies fell short by just a single point in overtime. 

Chase Smith attempts a shot. Smith’s play going forward will be key for the Grizzlies success.

This was a game that many feel that Grace should have won and raises the question of how will the Grizzlies respond moving forward?  The Grizzlies were without one of their starting seniors in this game which did affect their depth on an already shallow bench due to several former players electing not to play this season.  The Grizzlies still have enough pieces to have a successful run this season but they will have to play with a little more fire and confidence to meet their potential.  Things won’t get any easier for the Grizzlies this week as they will head to the Flaming Gorge tournament in Green River Wyoming.  Grace has had some past success at the tournament but it never comes easy.  They will face several challenges and time will tell how they will take on those challenges.

Grizzlies 17 8 13 11 10 59

Bears 11 11 16 11 11 60

K. Kimball 7, G. Draper 5, C. Mecham 6, B. Smith 9, C. Smith 8, P. Yost 24