HEM falls to Vikings at home

The Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners came to their home gym on Saturday to face the Guernsey-Sunrise Vikings a man short. Kyler Proffitt was not able to play and the Miner team was down to five boys.

The  Vikings looked to have about a dozen players as they sat down and the team was not lacking in tall boys.

The game started with the Vikings hitting a 3-pointer. The home crowd was delighted when Miner sophomore Hayden Antencio knocked back one making the score 3-3. The Vikings were visibly surprised.

The Vikings then went on a bit of scoring spree. Although senior Dylan Romero put forth some points to give the Miners 6 points in the 1st quarter, the Vikings were ahead by 15 having scored 21 points.

The 2nd quarter saw the Miners playing good defense and kept close as Romero and Antencio and the other players-Cody Priest, Rayce Ward and Jesse Deegan-played hard and scored 8 points to the Vikings 9 points. The Vikings went into the locker room at half-time ahead 30-14. 

The Miners had played tough, but the Vikings were taking advantage of being able to sub in players the 1st half while the five players from HEM could only rest during time outs.

The Miners came out and didn't give an inch. The inside players, Ward and Priest, rebounded well and tried to keep the scoring inside to a minimum. Like the 1st quarter, the 3rd saw the Vikings get 21 points. The Miners scored 7.

The 4th quarter had the Miners keep the Vikings at 11 points while they scored 8 points.

The Vikings had some good shooters from the outside and the Miners did their best to guard against these shots, but the Vikings made enough to keep pulling ahead. Although the Miners did put up points, their defense was all the way to the game ending buzzer. The five players might not have won the game, but there was little doubt they won the heart of the crowd which had attended the game.

The Miners had been scheduled to play Midwest on January 21, but the game was canceled.

The Miners will have hosted the Saratoga Panthers on January 25.

It is hoped Proffitt will be back in the lineup to give the Miners six players. The Miners played Saratoga earlier this season and the Panthers won. Head Coach Cliff Jones will be looking to see if his team has improved since the last meeting. This is one of his major goals with this year's team; for the Miners to improve against a team they had faced earlier.

Tuesday will tell.