The first home basketball games in the redesigned Moffat County gym saw fierce competition Saturday as Bulldog athletes dug in for a new phase of the season.

MCHS hosted its home opener this weekend against Grand Valley, with new seating seeing a strong community turnout as the new floor was broken in by hoopsters.

With a salute to Craig icon Tony St. John leading up to varsity games, emotions were high and excitement grew all the more as things began.

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MoCo girls took a commanding lead in the first quarter, with sophomore Kaydance Larsen hitting a long jumper to get the scoreboard going.

Head coach Heath Peper put in Larsen as a starter for the first time, though he had to make a shift as she injured her wrist.

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He noted that both Larsen and Jae Paisley Jenison — who was seeing her first game back after a knee issue last season — are both highly skilled at “hunting the ball.”

Peper took the opportunity to work in more of his bench across the game.

“We had a lot of switching up on our defenses. When we were in Grand Junction, I noticed that doing that really flustered offenses and got us a lot of extra possessions,” he said.

A 16-6 first quarter defined the day for the girls as they held the lead for the rest of the game, finishing it 44-29. Seniors Caitlyn Adams and Josefina Kuberry led scoring, with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Peper noted that the win was a good indicator of how the team has come along under new leadership.

“It’s a game of patterns, and our offense has those designed in it. We know what it is, we just have to get better at reading those patterns,” he said.

For Bulldog boys, a 16-all opening period showed they were well-matched against the Cardinals, but the second quarter saw them struggle with Grand Valley ahead 33-24 at halftime.

The Dogs found their footing midway through the fourth quarter, briefly retaking the lead before the Cards answered back.

Down 50-45 with 10 seconds left on the clock, junior Kenyen Camilletti took a chance with a lengthy three-point attempt that didn’t fall.

“If we’d just got the ball back, I think we could have come out with the dub (W),” he said. “We just didn’t play well as a team and didn’t communicate. We got into foul trouble and kind of fell off after that.”

Camilletti and senior Trayson Carlson each contributed a dozen points, with Carlson also adding seven steals and four assists.

MCHS teams will next travel to Basalt and will host their next home events Jan. 18 against Rifle.

Camilletti, who was on the floor after a minor ankle injury in Grand Junction, said he is more than prepared for the coming weeks.

“I’m a little sore, but other than that, I’m ready to go out and get more dubs,” he said.