Boys play 'A tale of two games'

Last week, the Thermopolis boys basketball team took on the Worland Warriors on the road Thursday and the Buffalo Bison at home. The Bobcats lost to both - 67-56 to Worland, 67-39 to Buffalo - in what Coach Kevin Gerber described as "definitely a tale of two games."

In the Worland game, Gerber said the boys showed up excited to play. They had talked about a former rivalry between the schools that died down over the past few years and being able to recharge that.

"Matchup wise," Gerber said, "they were a bit bigger than us." He further noted a 6'8" Warrior, but Will DeVries and Logan Bartholomew did a good job of getting to him and making it difficult to get rebounds. Overall in rebounds, the teams were fairly matched with Thermopolis grabbing 31 to Worland's 34.

Worland outscored the Bobcats 17-9 in the first quarter, Gerber said. "But we held our own. They just went on a run at one point. They got some fast break layups, and we were trying to pick up the pace to and go along with them. I think we matched it pretty well, and then we stepped up in the second quarter." The two teams matched at 15 points in the second.

Though the Bobcats were still trailing by eight at halftime, Gerber said they felt good about how they were playing. The third saw the Bobcats down by 22 at one point, but they came back and got to within 14. "I actually think we got into single digits," Gerber said of the deficit, "to nine, and then they hit a couple shots to end the quarter."

As for the fourth, Gerber said the boys came out and played hard, but fell short at the end of the game to lose by 11. "We outscored them by three in the quarter," Gerber pointed out. "I think we kind of shocked them. I don't think they were expecting us to play as well as we did." He was very proud of the boys for keeping in the game and bringing it to Worland. "They're great boys; they work really hard."

Gerber also spoke to the shortened practice schedule last week, and the team's stepping up to learn and incorporate some offensive and defensive changes.

Scoring against Worland were: Hudson Roling - 18; Noah Schwalbe - 17; Brett Nicodemus - 6; Trey Davis - 5; Logan Bartholomew - 2; Jaxon Davis - 4; Will DeVries - 2; and Jake Maksin - 2.

Gerber noted everyone who stepped on the court against Worland scored. Of Roling's 18, he said, 12 were in the fourth.

Coming home on the bus Thursday night, Gerber said the energy and excitement on the bus was good. The players saw scores where Worland beat Buffalo, so they had it in their minds they stood a good chance against the Bison.

"I don't think we were prepared for Buffalo's speed," Gerber said. "Size-wise, we were bigger than they were, but they were fast. They kind of shocked us right at the get-go." Buffalo outscored Thermopolis 25-15 in the first quarter, though the Bobcats didn't get down on themselves. Gerber noted they got into some foul trouble early on, sending Buffalo to the line nine times in the first.

Not being able to keep players out on the floor also translated into the second quarter, Gerber said, as Thermopolis was outscored again 15-4. "I think it took us out of our flow we had the night before, so when they stepped out on the court that second quarter there were a lot of groups who hadn't played together."

Buffalo also put a different type of pressure on them than Worland, and Gerber added they need to be prepared for the different ways teams play.

In the third quarter and facing a 21-point deficit, Gerber said it's hard to get up and going. "I think I felt that with the boys a little bit. I think there was some frustration, coming into time outs." Gerber further noted it's his job to make sure they keep their heads in the game, and his own frustration might have rubbed off on the players.

"I definitely don't want to do that. My goal this year was to have fun, and I probably got myself taken out of that during this game. I know that's going to happen to a point, but I also want those boys to play through the adversity as well."

Gerber reiterated they are still trying to figure out where they are as a team, what works for them and where their strengths are, which has been a fun challenge for him.

Scoring against Buffalo were: Schwalbe - 13; DeVries - 8; Roling - 8; Maksin - 4; Davis - 3; Bartholomew - 1; Nicodemus - 1; and Zupan - 1.

He was happy to see they had two games where everyone who played contributed in some form. "That's a really big thing for us. I think we have to recognize we're doing a pretty darn good job of getting out and playing hard."

Gerber said DeVries is getting more comfortable with his outside shooting, nailing a couple three-pointers in the first quarter. Roling contributed one as well. Schwalbe got into some foul trouble at the beginning of the game, Gerber noted, and sat out much of the first half. He made up for it in the second, where he took 11 of his 13.

As for rebounds, Gerber said DeVries had a good game with nine. The coach said one of the big struggles is having the attitude to rebound as well as the ability. "Anybody can box anybody out. You just have to go do it. We've just got to get over the mentality of out jumping everybody and actually going and getting the ball. That's going to have to be a big emphasis still for us."

There are some tough games coming up this week, Gerber said, with Rawlins here Friday night at 7 p.m. and the Bobcats at Douglas Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Both teams are ranked in the top five, and Gerber's excited for the challenges because it let him know where they're at. Rawlins is coming off a couple losses from the past weekend as well, and so they'll also be hungry for a win.

At practice this week, the emphasis will be on boxing out and moving the ball, working at a fast pace but keeping control. Gerber also wants to step up the boys' mental toughness and their ability to work through adversity.

"I think that's going to provide a lot more for them moving forward as young men," Gerber said. "I want them to be good basketball players when they leave the program, but I'm a lot more proud to see the kind of men they've grown to be."