Boys season comes to an end with Riverside upset

Tears, inside or out, of joy or grief, are the price one pays for the courage to compete and bond as teammates. This last weekend, as well as Monday, saw both the highs and lows of sports.

Friday, the boys Bobcat basketball team visited Shoshoni for an all-important conference game which would determine who would end up playing a "pigtail game".

The loss of a team leader, Keegan Robbins to injury, was entirely obvious at the start of the contest as the Bobcats scored a paltry three points in the first quarter while holding the Wranglers to 10 points.

"The team struggled to redefine itself without Keegan," explained Coach Kevin Gerber. "They were hunting for the replacement for his energy and leadership. Mike [Meier] supplied the energy, but we missed the scoring threat that Keegan had supplied. Eric [Herold] picked up three fairly quick fouls and that limited his game time."

Never-the-less, the Bobcats pulled themselves together, and led by one starting the fourth quarter. Shoshoni's Medicine Cloud hit for seven of his 26 points, and the Wranglers were seven of eight from the free throw line to lift Shoshoni to a three point win, 47-44.

Tyler Cornwell and Noah Schwalbe scored 16 and 11 respectively, and Robbins replacement, Meier, led the Bobcats in rebounds.

"They have a good team; they work hard. We played well after that first quarter, but we didn't get the job done," Gerber ended sadly.

Saturday saw the Bobcats end their regular season with their "Senior Night". Six senior players, Domanic Jensen, Cornwell, Herold, Meier, Cameron Igou and Grant Byrd, as well as senior manager Kayla Gilbert and trainer KinDale Andreen and their parents were introduced.

The third time around was more of the same for the Bobcats as they put up their third double digit win over the Riverside Rebels, 58-43.

Cornwell led all scorers with 22 points on three threes, five twos, and three for three from the line. Schwalbe contributed 14, and Herold, Meier, and Roling added 18 points among them.

The Rebels returned Monday night for that dreaded "pigtail game" which has become a regional loser out game. The Bobcats started as usual, jumping out to a 12-3 lead only to see that lead disappear and a 14-14 standoff at the start of quarter two. The energized Rebels then out scored the Bobcats by 10 points in the next two quarters to lead going into the fourth quarter, 38-28.

Roling made a game of it by dropping in 12 points in the fourth, adding to the Bobcats' side of the ledger, but a long shot at the buzzer failed to connect and the final score stood at 55-52.

"Our cause wasn't helped by 15 first half turnovers, " Gerber said. "They had 14. It really was pretty sloppy. Then we got into foul trouble and got careful, which allowed them to run their offense more efficiently.

"Still, our guys never gave up and got back into it with a couple of minutes to go. I really thought we had a chance to pull it out, but it didn't work out that way," he added

Assistant coaches Rob Anderson and Colin Herold were praised for their efforts and support. "We put into play a whole new program, both offense and defense. It was a lot of work and it was vital that everyone buy into the effort. The coaches were tremendous in making it work, and we'll be that much further ahead when we start next year with the returnees and freshmen coming into the program," Gerber noted. "I wish we had won the last game, but I'm convinced that these seniors gave everything they had to give, and they are leaving knowing that they (and I) have no regrets about this season."