Craig Daily Press

Craig — Moffat County guard Thomas Noble went from goat to hero in a matter of 39 seconds.

Trailing by three with 45 seconds remaining Saturday against host Delta High School, Noble turned the ball over on a traveling violation.

The junior guard more than made up for it.

Noble hit a game-tying 3-pointer and drove the lane assisting on junior Chayton Owens’ basket with 6.2 seconds remaining, in what proved to be the game-winning basket in Moffat County’s 59-57 victory.

Entering the locker room after the game, Bulldogs assistant coach Nick Bomba pumped his fist in the air and yelled, “We’re on the board, baby.”

It was the Bulldogs’ first league win of the season.

“I was thinking ‘not again’ when I got called for traveling,” Noble said. “We got the ball back, and I knew we needed a 3, and I knocked it down.”

The Panthers could only manage a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer, which came up short in Delta’s seventh consecutive loss.

“We needed a stop,” Bulldogs coach Steve Maneotis said of his team trailing by three with less than a minute remaining. “I started to think about the 3-ball, and I drew something up. The ball was supposed to go to (Eli) Buckner, but when Noble spotted up, I knew it would fall.”

Moffat County (2-11 overall, 1-4 Western Slope League) used a dominating post presence to stay with the Panthers throughout the game.

Owens led the Bulldogs with 18 points, Blake Najera had 14, Noble 12 and Buckner 10.

The 6-foot-5-inch Noble and 6-foot-6-inch Najera combined to make more than 20 trips to the free-throw line.

“We had a great effort out of the post tonight,” Maneotis said. “All those guys down low did a fantastic job.”

Delta (1-8 overall, 0-5 WSL) led by three at the end of the third quarter.

The lead remained unchanged until Noble’s late-game heroics.

“We were up three, and I felt like we were in good shape,” Panthers coach Joe Mock said. “But, that three was clutch for Moffat. That kid hit a really big shot. I’ve got to tip my hat to them.”

Boys junior varsity

The Moffat County boys junior varsity basketball team was shut out of the win column this past weekend while competing on the road at Palisade and Delta.

Moffat County fell, 66-52, on Friday to Palisade, despite 17 points from Brian Ivy and 14 points apiece from Pablo Salcido and Jordan Wilson.

Saturday’s trip to Delta didn’t fare any better for the Bulldogs.

Salcido drained a three-quarter-court shot at the half to pull Moffat within 11, before MCHS eventually lost, 60-54.

Wilson led Saturday’s scoring, dropping 14 points for the Bulldogs. Nathan Hill and Ivy pitched in with 10 points each.