Grand County Middle School’s boys basketball teams are nearing the end of their respective seasons, but each has a few more regular season games remaining, according to Conrad Yanito, who coaches both the seventh- and eighth-grade teams.
Both teams were scheduled to play at Monticello on Feb. 11, and at Pinnacle Academy in Helper on Feb. 18, Yanito said. The T-Birds are also hosting two weekend invitational tournaments. The eighth-grade tournament is scheduled for Feb. 15-16, with Grand’s first game to be played at 4 p.m. against Paonia, Colo., followed by a game against Cortez, Colo., at 7 p.m. that evening.
In addition, the GCMS seventh-graders will host a tournament Feb. 22-23, Yanito said.
In recent T-Bird action, the seventh-grade and eighth-grade teams defeated Lyman Middle School at Blanding on Jan. 31. Both teams won by the exact same score of 42-36.
Braden Schultz led all scorers with 11 points in the first contest, while Kenyon Birdwell led all scorers with 14 in the eighth-grade game.
On Feb. 5, GCMS hosted Whitehorse Middle School, and both T-Bird squads won handily. The eighth-graders posted a 64-23 victory and the seventh-graders won their game 71-24. Both GCMS teams had three players score in double figures, Yanito said.
On Feb. 7, GCMS hosted Lyman for another pair of games. The seventh-grade T-Birds rolled to a 54-24 win, thanks to the play of Masen Ward and Josh Jones.
“The eighth grade game was intense and a physical game, which is usually the case when a rival team comes to town,” Yanito said. “This time around, they wanted to split the season series, but the T-Birds made sure that wouldn’t happen.”
The Thunderbirds came from behind late in the game to win, 36-27, as Birdwell and Christian Wilson each scored 10 points.
According to Yanito, the GCMS seventh-graders have a perfect 14-0 season record, while the eighth-graders are 11-6 overall.