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Rams 1-2 in opening basketball tournament

Melinda Mawdsley

The Soroco boys basketball team went 1-2 at the DeBeque Tournament held Friday and Saturday, but coach Andy Smith saw enough positives from his squad to leave him encouraged about the coming weeks.

“I was really impressed with how everyone played,” he said. “I was happy with the result, watching the guys play and seeing that they are really starting to play smart basketball.”

Soroco lost to DeBeque, 57-71, in Friday’s late game. The Rams turned around and played the early game Saturday, falling to Plateau Valley 40-47.



Soroco picked up its first win of the 2003 season, 60-57, against Nucla in Saturday’s second game.

The three games in two days left the Rams fatigued, Smith said, but his team rallied to go 1-1 in two games that were decided by a combined 10 points.



Against Nucla, Soroco found itself with a sizable lead before the Mustangs made a run.

“They got pretty close, but they had to foul, and we were able to hit the shots at the end,” Smith said.

The high scorer of the weekend was junior Tony Iacovetto, who had 72 points in three games, including 36 in a losing effort against DeBeque.

“He was on fire, that’s all there is to it,” Smith said.

While Smith was impressed with Iacovetto’s offensive dominance, he said the play of senior Kory Babcock and junior Denis Luark particularly stood out.

“They just worked their butts off all weekend,” Smith said.

Soroco returns to action on Saturday at South Park. The varsity plays at 5:30 p.m. The junior varsity plays at 2:30 p.m.

“They were pretty tough last year and we got a victory but that doesn’t mean it will happen again,” Smith said of the South Park match-up.

— To reach Melinda Mawdsley call 871-4208 or e-mail mmawdsley@steamboatpilot.com


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