Following a 59-58 win against North Sanpete to close the regular season, the Carbon Dinos traveled down I-15 for a second-round showdown against a familiar foe: the Richfield Wildcats. A slow second quarter from the Dinos aided Richfield in building a double-digit lead, which they would hold until the final buzzer, coming away with a 61-41 win.

The first quarter was the closest of the contest, with both teams trading baskets early. Carter Warburton would be the spark that ignited the Dinos scoring, hitting back-to-back threes and a fast break layup to score eight of Carbon’s 13 first-quarter points. At the end of one, Richfield held a narrow 16-13 advantage.

Offense was at a premium in the second quarter, with Carbon’s lone points coming with two minutes remaining in the frame courtesy of an Evan Lancaster three. Richfield would find a flow and score 11 points to take a 27-16 lead into the halftime break.

The shots would continue to rain down for the Wildcats as they asserted their will over the Dinos in the third. However, more Dinos were able to find the bottom of the bucket as Ty Mortensen and Logan Bennett began to hit their stride. Heading into the final frame Richfield was up 49-27.

The fourth quarter saw the Wildcats coasting off momentum, matching each Carbon basket with one of their own. With two minutes remaining, Carbon would let the five seniors on the squad in Lancaster, Cannon Mortensen, Charles Tima, Maxwell Carlson and Rydge Butler all end their high school careers on the floor together. As the final buzzer sounded, Richfield advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 61-41 win.

Leading the way in the scoring column was Warburton who finished with eight. Cannon Mortensen and Tima had six, Lancaster and Carlson each added five, the duo of Ty Mortensen and Jackson Bosone poured in four and Bennett had two.

“The seniors were huge,” explained Head Coach Taylor Brower in the Eastern Utah Community Credit Union postgame show,” I told them this year is the foundation that we build everything else on. The seniors are definitely a big part of that.”

The Dinos end the season with an overall record of 5-19 and 2-12 in Region 12.

Castle Country would like to congratulate the Dinos on their season and wish the seniors good luck in their future endeavors.