The Grizzlies Are Back!

Coming into this season, the Grace boys basketball team was full of high expectations.  After missing out on a state tournament berth last year, this year’s team is hungry to get back.  With a roster full of upper classmen that includes eight seniors and five juniors there is plenty of talent and experience to work with.  You know what they say about the best laid plans.  Even the most careful plans can go wrong due to unforeseen circumstances.  That is exactly the circumstance that the Grizzlies found themselves in with several lingering injuries from a long football season affecting several of those players.  Those injuries, combined with the juggling of players required to fill three full teams and stay within the state’s quarters played parameters, stretched the Grizzlies thin.  Before they knew it December was over, and the Grizzlies were sitting with an abysmal 2-6 record.  Luckily for the Grizzlies there is enough season left to turn things around.  Last week the Grizzlies were finally at full strength, and just in time too.  Grace had three big games last week and a full roster to work with.  This is just what the Grace coaches and fans had been waiting to see and the players did not disappoint.

The Grizzlies kicked off their busy week last Tuesday in Malad.  The Dragons had some early season success and proved that they were not going to be push overs.  In fact, they were the aggressors in the early going and before the first quarter was over it was clear that the Grizzlies were in for a dog fight.  A somewhat low scoring opening period ended with the Dragons leading by two points.  The Grizzlies had started off slow and the pace did not pick up much in the second.  The game stayed close as the teams battled back and forth.  When the first half came to a close, the Grizzlies had matched the Dragons and the teams went into the locker room all knotted up.  It was during the third quarter that the Grizzlies took control of the game.  Grace exploded with a nineteen point quarter and took a comfortable lead into the fourth.  In the fourth Grace may have gotten a little too comfortable, allowing Malad to go on a scoring run of their own.  The Dragons put up eighteen in the final period.  Fortunately the Grizzlies were able to connect on six of seven foul shots and did just enough to earn a three point victory.

With a day break between games, the Grace coaching staff made some minor adjustments to the personnel before the team traveled to Aberdeen to face the Tigers.  This game was a runaway right from the get go.  The speed, depth, and athleticism of the Grizzlies quickly overwhelmed the Tigers.  Grace seemed to almost score at will while swarming the Tigers on defense.  After three quarters Grace had a commanding lead and just coasted through the fourth.  This is an area where the coaches would like to see improvement.  They feel like the players get too comfortable and allow their opponents to make things interesting.  This game never got to that point but the Tigers were able to match the Grizzlies score in the fourth.  In the end Grace still breezed to a twenty-three point victory.

In their final game of the week the Grizzlies hosted the Bear Lake Bears.  In an early match up in the season these two teams needed extra time to decide the winner.  Grace did win that game in overtime but they had to battle hard and were still short handed at the time.  This time things would go much different.  Just like the night before in Aberdeen the Grizzlies jumped all over the Bears right out of the gate.  After the first quarter Grace had a nine point lead and had held the Bears to just four points.  The second quarter was one of the biggest scoring quarters of the year for Grace.  The Grizzlies put up a whooping twenty-two points and took a nineteen point lead into the locker room.  Once again the Grizzlies eased off in the second half but still managed to outscore the Bears winning the game by twenty one points.

For the first time this season the Grizzlies appear to be running on all cylinders with their biggest criticism being they aren’t finishing strong enough.  That is something the coaches will work on this week.  Grace faces another busy week this week with three more games.  Grace will have already played Soda Springs on Tuesday night before having a rematch with Malad on Wednesday.  They wrap up the week with their first 2A game of the season when they travel to Raft River on Saturday for an afternoon game.

Grizzlies 7 10 19 12 48

Dragons 9 8 10 18 45

J.Smith 7, B.Kimball 9, G.Draper 2, L.VanGass 11, C.Smith 2, C.Reeves 3, C. Welch 2, P.Yost 4, L.Moss 8

Grizzlies 14 12 13 8 47

Tigers 7 5 4 8 24

D.Hill 4, J.Smith 3, B.Kimball 9, G.Draper 2, L.VanGass 6, C.Smith 3, C.Reeves 4, C.Welch 6, P.Yost 7, L.Moss 3

Grizzlies 13 22 12 3 50

Bears 4 12 5 8 29

D.Hill 2, J.Smith 4, B.Kimball 18, L.VanGass 10, C.Smith 4, C.Reeves 4, C.Welch 8