The No. 8 Cedaredge Bruins dashed the No. 5 Roaring Fork Rams girls basketball team’s hopes for a perfect season Friday night, dominating them 78-40.

“We have to do a better job of protecting the basketball,” Rams head coach Mike Vidakovich said at halftime. “They are a very physical team, so we will have to match that. But we have dug ourselves quite a hole.”

That hole was dug by early mistakes from the Rams, which Cedaredge capitalized on to seize control. The Bruins quickly turned Roaring Fork’s gym into their own as their smaller but energetic fan base cheered them on.

The first six minutes were rough for the Rams, who were forced to call a timeout midway through the first quarter after the Bruins turned three consecutive turnovers into points. In less than a minute, Cedaredge’s slim lead ballooned by 10 points, prompting an explosion of cheers from the Bruins’ bench.

Hoping to halt Cedaredge’s momentum, Vidakovich’s timeout proved ineffective as the Bruins continued to surge. Their lead stood at eight points at the end of the first quarter, but a nine-point run to start the second quickly doubled it. By halftime, Cedaredge had extended their lead to 43-21.

The Rams came out of halftime with renewed energy, briefly igniting hope among the large home crowd. However, midway through the third quarter, the Bruins delivered the decisive blow. With three minutes left in the quarter, Roaring Fork used its final timeout as the scoreboard showed Cedaredge crossing the 50-point mark.

The Bruins’ starters were cheered off the court late in the game as their lead flirted with 40 points, though it never quite reached that mark. As the buzzer sounded, Cedaredge celebrated the upset, while the Rams left the court with their heads held high, already focusing on their next game.

“I know the girls,” Vidakovich said after the loss. “They will regroup and be ready for our trip to Olathe tomorrow. They never gave up, regardless of the situation. They are never going to give up, so I’m always very proud of them. We can’t dwell on this one too much. Cedaredge is a really good basketball team, and I think they were more ready to play tonight than us, and that falls on me.”

The Rams bounced back in a big way Saturday, cruising to a dominant 71-19 victory over the Olathe Pirates. Roaring Fork will nexy head up-valley on Tuesday to take on the Aspen Skiers.