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The Moffat County boys varsity basketball team ended their appearance in the Grandview tournament on a high note Saturday, pushing aside Mesa Ridge, 46-36. With the victory, the Bulldogs closed the Front Range event with a 2-2 record.

"We ended up great," coach Steve Maneotis said. "I think they (the Front Range schools in attendance) know that we're a team that is going to have to be reckoned with. People know who we are now. We came down here and got a lot of people's attention. It was good."

Moffat County (4-4 overall, 0-0 Western Slope League - 4A) pulled back to .500 on the season, and sent the Grizzlies (2-5 overall, 0-0 Colorado Springs Metro League - 4A) to their fifth loss in six games.

The Bulldogs found their stride from the opening tip, shooting their way to a 24-point lead midway through the second half and put it on cruise control from there. Senior shooting guard Thomas Noble was the offensive spark plug, finishing with a team-high 18 points, including 12 from downtown. Chayton Owens bullied his way to 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

"I think we just stayed consistent," Maneotis said. "We played well. We saw the zone the whole game against this team, and we held our composure and did what we had to do to beat it."

Defensively, Moffat County pressed the Grizzlies into bad shots and sloppy turnovers.

Mesa Ridge scored a total of two points in the game's opening quarter.

"Our full-court pressure and run-and-jump pressure was excellent," Maneotis said. "We ran them into the ground."

Up big late, Maneotis emptied his bench.

"We went to our bottom five guys and got them some valuable floor time," Maneotis said. "We looked sharp out there today.

"It was a great way to end the tournament."

The Bulldogs have an extended break for the holiday. Moffat County competes Jan. 9 at Eagle Valley in both team's Western Slope League opener.

Notes:

The Bulldogs entered 2007-08 league play with a record of 1-7 after its first eight games and went on to finish the year 9-14. : Moffat County is 4-4 after its first eight games this year - three losses were to state-ranked teams (D'Evelyn, Pueblo East and Littleton), the other a one-point loss to Montrose. : Zach Raftopoulos missed both games Saturday with a hip flexor suffered in the Lewis-Palmer pre-game shoot around. : Moffat County's student enrollment is 760 - Mesa Ridge's is 1,390.