by Jeff Richards Contributing Writer Moab Times Independent

A sea of pink jerseys surrounds a Green River player holding the pink-and-white game ball, during Grands junior varsity win over the Pirates on Dec. 19. Photo by Jeff Richards

The two teams would have normally been decked out in the appropriately festive Christmas colors of red and green, but just for that night, the players on both teams instead wore pink jerseys as part of the games Slam Dunk for a Cure promotion to raise money for the battle against cancer. Green River wore light pink uniforms, while the Red Devils donned shirts that were a darker fuchsia.

Grand won both the freshman and junior varsity games handily, after which the Red Devils varsity squad managed to take a slim 30-29 halftime lead over the Pirates.

However, two of Grands starting players, senior Ronnie Dolphin and junior Brayden Ward, had conked heads while going for a rebound late in the second quarter, putting both players out of the game.

Ward suffered a gash underneath his eyebrow that will likely require stitches. He was attended to by spectator Dr. Ken Williams of Moab, who came down from the stands and patched Wards cut using a squirt of super glue. Ward was able to briefly return to the game after that, but didnt remain in for long.

Dolphin, who also had sustained a small cut on his head, was believed to have suffered a concussion and did not return to action.

GCHS head coach Scott Horton said the unfortunate collision took away any momentum the Red Devils had going for them in the first half.

Right after they hit heads, we lost our spark, he said.

The Pirates went on a scoring tear during the third quarter, outpacing the Red Devils 30-4 over an eight-minute span. During the third period, the Red Devils suffered two more setbacks when Jasen Christensen fouled out of the game and fellow senior Brendan Bennett was sidelined with a knee injury.

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Red Devils lose pink basketball game at Green River