Steamboat Springs — With just one 6-footer in the lineup, the Steamboat Springs boys basketball team fell to Grand Junction Central 37-28 in a low-scoring game last weekend.

“We ran our offense real well, but we just couldn’t get the shots to fall,” head coach Kelly Meek said.

With starters Alex Mackey and Ray Banning watching from the stands, the Sailors netted just five first-half points. An injury to the Sailors’ Ryan Scheer early in the first half gave the Central team the opening they were looking for.

“When Ryan went down, that’s when they really started to hammer us,” Meek said.

Six-foot-6 Brad Nicholson scored 10 points to lead the Warriors.

John Daschle scored 12 for the Sailors, with 11 coming in the second half. Jeff Aragon added nine before leaving the game late in the second half with an injury.

The Sailors made a run in the final minutes of the game pulling to within five of the Warriors with about two minutes remaining to play. Meek said that’s when Aragon stole the ball at midcourt and threw up a 3-point attempt. Aragon missed the shot and was hurt in the scramble to rebound the ball.

Injuries continue to plague the Sailors this season. Steamboat opened the game without the services of Mackey and Banning and finished with four players on the bench with injuries.

The team lost Scheer in the first half to a foot-ankle injury and Aragon late in the second half.

“We only had one player in our lineup over 6 feet,” Meek said.

Steamboat outscored the Central team 23 to 17 in the second half but could never overcome the squad’s first-half deficit.

The Sailors, who are now 5-2 for the season, will play their next game this Friday at home against the Moffat County Bulldogs. The boys are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. The girls will play at 6 p.m. in Steamboat.