Bobcats finish strong with win against Glenrock

It was an energetic weekend for Thermopolis Boys Basketball, as they competed in the Big Horn Basin Classic, taking losses against Greybull and Powell, but capping off the weekend with a win against Glenrock.

Coach Kevin Gerber was excited to play against Greybull Thursday, as they were in the conference with them last year. It was a game the team wanted to win for sure, taking their opponent on their own court. However, Greybull won 58-54.

Greybull played tight defense on Noah Schwalbe, Gerber noted, almost as if they wanted to remove him as an option and force everyone else to step up. Schwalbe still managed to put 15 points on the board.

"It actually was really good for our team," Gerber said of the Greybull defense. "It made a lot of kids step up and play really well." In addition to Schwalbe, Gerber said there was really good play out of Trey Davis, Jake Maksin and Hudson Roling. He further added Davis made four of five three-pointers, while Maksin had a great bounce back game with 10 points. Gerber said Maksin struggled somewhat during the East-West Classic prior to the holiday break.

The team had a big fourth quarter, and the players had a positive attitude and tried their best, Gerber said. Greybull started the quarter with a two-point lead.

"They just pulled it out," Gerber said of the Bobcats. They were able to get some turnovers, while Davis made three of his four three-pointers and Schwalbe sank another two.

"They were huge shots," Gerber said. "We got really close, and had some good shots at the end." When he visited with the boys afterward, he said it certainly wasn't the way they wanted to go but they had no reason to hang their heads.

Starter Will DeVries was missing from the tournament as he had second-degree frostbite on his toes, and Brett Nicodemus knocked knees with an opposing player near the end of the first half and wasn't able to play much the second.

"So, without two of your normal starters in there," Gerber said, "it was great to see guys stepping up. They played good, tough defense. They did what I asked them to do."

Gerber also praised the bench. "No matter who it was sitting out. They were so big and supportive through the game and that was really fun to feel the energy on a Thursday night game on the road."

Out of the entire game, Gerber said if they had slowed Greybull on their transition offense they might have taken them. Greybull scored just under 20 on transition points, where they were able to get rebounds and get the ball moving quickly. There were some changes made at halftime to shut them down, Gerber said.

Scoring for the Greybull game was: Schwalbe - 15, Davis - 12, Maksin - 10, Roling - 9, Nicodemus - 4, Logan Bartholomew - 3 and Alex Jensen - 1

In the Friday game against Powell, a 49-33 loss, Gerber said Schwalbe came out "guns blazing," making 15 of the team's 19 first half points. Bartholomew played well also, Gerber said, working to make sure Schwalbe was open and setting some screens, while Roling handled well any pressure Powell brought. Gerber added Roling is a great ball handler and really takes care of it, and he keeps his head up so he can keep his eye on open players down court.

Again, transition points were the bane of the Bobcats and they were in a nine-point deficit going into the third quarter. Thermopolis was able to outscore 9-8 in the third, but in the fourth they went "ice cold," Gerber said. "We couldn't make a basket. It wasn't because we didn't get good looks. It wasn't because anybody was really forcing shots up. The shots we normally take just weren't falling, and so they were able to outscore us 12-5."

The offense and defense both played well, Gerber said, and they were able to hold Powell to under 50 points. "You hold a team under 50 points in 3A, you always are going to give yourself a shot to win. We just couldn't put it in the hole, so we wound up losing by 16."

Davis, Gerber noted, had rough game. Typically reliable for shooting threes, he wasn't able to make one.

After the game, Gerber said the feel in the locker room was quite different than after the Greybull game. "After the Greybull game," Gerber said, "we knew we'd played a really good game and we were proud of how we played. After the Powell game . . . we weren't feeling great in the locker room. The boys were pretty upset as far as how we put some things together. We knew we were better than how it showed."

The boys' reaction, he noted, was promising because it reflects they want to go out and win every time. Though it wasn't a great game, they were able to take away some things to build on.

Scoring against Powell was: Schwalbe - 20, Roling - 7, Maksin - 3, Bartholomew - 2 and Jensen - 1.

The 48-41 Thermopolis win against Glenrock was something of a "revenge game" Gerber said, as the last time they competed was during their opener, at Glenrock, and the Bobcats lost by one point in overtime.

"I kind of told them it was time for us to really play some tough, hard-nose defense. I wanted to see their grit and desire to really go out and play a tough, tough game. They answered that call."

Thermopolis outscored Glenrock 12-7 in the first quarter, but had a down quarter in the second, scoring only five points to Glenrock's 11 which left them trailing by a point at the half.

"It wasn't a high scoring half at all," Gerber said, "which means there was a lot of good defense going on."

In the third quarter, Glenrock again took the scoring lead - 14-8 - though the Bobcats got themselves psyched in the huddle and Gerber pressed them to listen to him and do what he said. "Sometimes when a coach gets after a team like that you see them crumble or they rise up to it. We clearly rose up to it and outscored Glenrock 23-9 to beat them by seven."

Gerber was proud of the boys to come in and play they way they did. He pointed out Bartholomew played great defense against Glenrock's Logan Downs, and Roling had five blocks. Of those, one was a three-pointer with 40 seconds on the clock.

Scoring against Glenrock was: Schwalbe - 14, Roling - 13, Davis - 11, Maksin - 6 and Jensen - 4. Gerber noted Davis was back in form and nailed nine of his 11 on three-pointers.

With DeVries out and Nicodemus getting injured in the first game, Gerber said it was great to see the other players step up against Glenrock and answer the call. Gerber's also excited about the team's three-point shooting, and he encourages them taking those shots when they are available and not forced.

"It's great to see them stepping into a shot and shooting with confidence. I think they've all just stepped into their shots and taken them very confidently. Whether they make it or they miss it they're not hanging their heads, they're not upset. That's huge for us right now."

One of the biggest things Gerber is taking away from the weekend is the fact they ran a nine-man rotation as best they could. He's encouraged the kids to understand such things will pay off down the road. If there is foul trouble or players are injured, it means there are players to take their place who have seen court action on the varsity level.

The Glenrock win was a nice way to end the weekend, Gerber said, and the Bobcats' record doesn't reflect nearly the improvement the boys are showing. He's looking forward to the Friday game against Lander, scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., and their first home game, against Lovell Saturday, starting at 7 p.m.

JV will play at Lander Friday starting at 4:30 p.m., then face Lovell at home Saturday starting at 4 p.m. at Thermopolis Middle School.