In their home opener on Tuesday night, the Dinos welcomed the Uintah Utes into town.
Carbon took control of the game in the early going by feeding Kaleb Nelson downlow and collecting defensive rebounds. The Utes hung around with several deep threes from Kamon Anderson.
Just when it looked like the Dinos might run away with the contest, Josh Speirs caught fire. He was a one-man wrecking crew for the Utes, draining threes, anticipating passes and disrupting Carbon’s flow. The Utes, behind Speirs, overcame a five-run deficit with a 22-point second quarter to take a 32-28 lead into half. Speirs ended the half with 21 of Uintah’s 32 points.
Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the third as both squads made halftime adjustments to slow down the opposition. The Utes began double teaming Nelson in the paint while the Dinos held Speirs in check. Brady Gagon took charge by driving to the rack and getting to the foul line. He went 6-7 from the free throw line to keep the Dinos within striking distance.
Carbon was keeping pace with Uintah but was in need of a spark to regain the lead. The answer came off the bench in Noah Bradford, who ignited the Dinos with three three-pointers in just minutes. Carbon retook the lead and never looked back. Caleb Nelson hit a couple of threes as well and Uintah was left with no response. The Dinos went on to take the match 61-56.
Nelson recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Bradford and Gagon also reached double-digits with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Keenan Hatch affected shots with his length and had six rebounds while Merrick Morgan and Preston Condie were each active on defense and were rewarded with two steals apiece.
Carbon showed heart and sent Dino Nation home happy with their comeback effort. The Dinos (2-0) will be back at it after the Thanksgiving break when they take on North Sanpete (2-0) on the road on Dec. 4.
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- Photos by Jeff Barrett
