Carbon and Grand Go Toe-To-Toe *Photo Gallery*

The top two teams in Region 12 met up on Wednesday night for a huge showdown.

The Red Devils got off to the better start as turnovers plagued the Dinos early. Grand took advantage of the miscues and built a big 21-13 lead as a result.

Carbon looked like a different team in the second quarter and took the attack right to the Red Devils. The Dinos began driving the ball down the lane with a lot of success. Keenan Hatch made his presence known down low with four blocks in the first half while Noah Bradford was hustling all over the court, extending plays and making buckets. The Dinos forced their way back in the game and took the lead 36-34 by halftime.

Carbon kept up its intensity coming out of half and put together another nice quarter. The Dinos maintained the momentum and stayed in attack mode, putting Grand on its heels.

The Red Devils quickly regained their footing, however, and fought their way back. Each team scored 23 points in the penultimate period to keep it a two-point game.

Grand began to retake the momentum late by stifling the Dino offense. Turnovers sprung up again, extending the Dino lull. Carbon was able to regroup, but time was short, forcing the Dinos to foul in order to extend the contest. Grand made its final four foul shots to ice the game as a Preston Condie three-pointer went in just before the buzzer. The Dinos battled hard but fell in a close one, 76-75.

Merrick Morgan had a huge night, hitting clutch shots and scoring 22 points to lead the Dinos. Bradford finished with 17 points while Preston Condie recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. He was also tasked with playing tough defense on Grand’s top scorer and did an admirable job. Caleb Winfree reached double digits as well with 10 points. Carbon’s effort was on full display as the Dinos crashed the boards hard and ended the night with 34 rebounds as a team.

Carbon (11-6, 4-3) will next play Emery (2-13, 0-7) on Friday night back in Price. The game will be streamed live on ETV Channel 10 and online at etvnews.com/livesports.