It was a rough start to the new basketball campaign for the Paonia boys hoops team. The two games the Eagles played over the weekend were losses.

Cedaredge Bruin Cade Sweeney capitalized on his height advantage to score 30 against Paonia.

For the girls, the outcome was just the opposite with wins in both Gunnison and Cedaredge. The Lady Eagles soared over the Cowboys by a 65-32 and then dismantled Cedaredge 39-16 on Saturday afternoon.

For the boys, Friday’s game against the Cowboys was pretty much an even affair with each team scoring 15 points in the opening quarter. Gunnison pulled away slightly with a 16-10 run in the second period and owned a 31-25 lead at the break.

Gunnison’s Emmett Guy poured in 12 points in the first half and teammate Nick Garcia added another 10 counters for the Cowboys.

Noah Kropp and Adrian Penney tallied seven points each in the first half with Blaine Escher contributing six.

Gunnison took command of this contest with a torrid 31-17 explosion in the third stanza. Josh Saucedo canned nine points and Von Cortner another seven to lead the offensive surge. Penney funneled 11 points through the ring for Paonia but got little help from his teammates as the Eagles fell behind 62-42 with one period left to play.

The two teams were evenly matched in the fourth frame with Gunnison having a 13-11 edge for the 75-53 final score. Paonia’s Trevor Walters had six points in that final quarter.

Gunnison had four players in double figures with Guy’s 18 leading the way. Garcia was next high with 16 with Saucedo and Bryce Johnston finishing with 11 apiece.

Paonia’s top scorer was Penney with 17 points.

Against the Bruins of Cedaredge, Paonia made the game look close with a furious 26-point effort in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were down 39-25 heading into the last eight minutes of play.

Cade Sweeney set the tone for what was to come as he led the Bruins to a 14-7 lead after one period of play. Sweeney had eight of the Bruins’ 14 counters.

The same scoring trend continued into the second quarter as Cedaredge outscored the Eagles 16-7 for a 30-14 halftime lead. Sweeney continued with the hot hand as he scored nine points in the period.

After the intermission, the game’s tempo slowed with Paonia outscoring the Bruins 11-9 in third period play. Sweeney kept his offensive touch intact by scoring six of the nine Bruin points.

Paonia went on a tear in the fourth frame with John Devlin and Trevor Walters scoring eight and seven points respectively to lead the Eagles on a 26-15 run.

Sweeney’s eight points in the fourth quarter, and six from Chaunce Lindley, helped the Bruins stay ahead of Paonia for a 54-51 victory.

Sweeney finished the game with 30 points to lead all scoreres. Paonia did not have a player who scored in double figures. Noah Kropp led Paonia’s offense with nine points. Devlin was next high with eight.

For the girls, information from the Paonia-Gunnison game was not available.

Paonia’s matchup with the Lady Bruins, in Cedaredge on Saturday, was an unusual contest if looking at the scorebook is any indicator. The Lady Eagles pounded Gunnison with 65 points but were held to just 39 against Eri Hollembeak’s Bruins.

First-quarter scoring was all Paonia as the Lady Eagles put up 12 points while holding Cedaredge scoreless. Grayson Pipher had six of her game-high 15 points in the quarter for Paonia.

Second quarter action saw the roles reversed, though not as profound in the scoring department, with Cedaredge outscoring the Lady Eagles 6-3. Pipher had three free throws in four attempts for Paonia while Jamie Deal, Amber Farr, and Jheri Gates had two points each for Cedaredge.

The game’s tempo remained low following halftime with Paonia adding to their lead with an 8-5 edge. Paonia was leading 23-11 entering the final period.

A 16-5 surge by the Lady Eagles produced a final score of 39-16. Paonia shot 15 free throws in the final quarter and made eight of them.

Gates’ five points topped Cedaredge shooters in the game.

Paonia’s next game is with Plateau Valley on Thursday, Dec. 10, in Paonia. Varsity action is set for 5 and 6:30 p.m. A trip to Montrose is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 11, with those games starting at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

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