Middle school basketball wrapping up

A game against Meeteetse last week showed what the seventh grade boys A basketball team is all about with a 42-18 win.

"This was an overall great effort by our whole team," coach Dan Webber said. "We played well on both ends of the floor and really spread the scoring around. Hopefully, this will carry over into our next games."

A number of the players took a good look at the basket including top scorer Hayden Overfield who popped in eight points on the day. Logan Dafoe made six points, followed by five more by Cody Bomengen.

Dennis Korte, Stone Pebbles and Ryan Arends each scored four points and Body Potter and Nolan Collins each tossed in three more. Scott Coale and Ellis Webber had two points each and Bridger Peil had a free throw roll in for one point.

The A team took on Worland last Thursday, and although they played hard, they just couldn't keep up, losing 29-42.

"There were a number of things we did well," coach Webber said, "but Worland was too big and aggressive for us and they pulled away from us when it mattered.

"They really had no trouble scoring against our zone defense with their size."

Arends tipped in 12 points to lead the way, followed by six points from Korte. Overfield added another five, with Brody Potter sending in four and Zerrian Stone with two points.

On the B side, the boys came out on top, 30-24, even though they were a man short.

"It almost caught up to us with foul trouble at the end of the game," Webber said, "but the kids played hard and smart defense and were able to hold Worland off on their home court.

"This team is really coming along as they have answered most of the challenges thrown at them as the season has gone along. They are ready to play three games on Saturday (B tournament) to really test how much they have improved and I am looking forward to it."

Nolan Collins fielded 10 points with Peil and Zack Hastie each having six. Pebbles answered with four points against Worland while Cody Bomengen tossed in four.

For the eighth graders the Meeteetse game was a mixed A/B game so a total of 14 players were suited up.

"We started the game out well," coach Ryan Shaffer said, "getting a 14 point lead going into the fourth quarter, but allowed our score to dictate the level of play for the final quarter. Although we were able to hold on for the win, 36-33, I think it was a good opportunity for our kids to see the difference in playing in close games and playing with large leads."

Last Thursday the eighth graders took on Worland as well, losing to the A team, 37-54, but winning against the B team, 31-21.

"Although the final score doesn't seem like it, we were in this game until the end," said coach Shaffer. "We were only down seven at the end of the third and due to turnovers and bad defense, allowed them to pull ahead and finish the game."

Shaffer said he did see several boys step up as they were plagued with sickness on the team, saying Sean Slagle played very well and Andrue Howell and Will Coale had a combined seven-threes in the game.

"Although we didn't get a win, we took a lot away from this game and showed much progress as our final regular season game," he added.

The B team had a great game against Worland, taking a small lead in the first half and finishing the game strong, ending on a shutout in the fourth quarter because of their defense.

"Our posts players played very well with Simon Ream and Mason Reese scoring 15 of the 31 points," Shaffer said. "That, along with some good guard play created the perfect half for us and built our lead to finish the game."

Saturday saw the court filled with competitors from Lovell, Powell and Lander as the B team held their final tournament of the season at home.

"This was a fun set of games as we were able to play at our home gym in front of our home fans," Shaffer said. "We had three games for the day, and although we didn't get the wins we wanted, we put up a fight and made for some exciting basketball."

First in line was Thermopolis vs Lovell with Lovell coming out on top 27-44.

"We let this one go in the second half when Lovell started hitting their outside shots and we couldn't get much to drop on the offensive end," Shaffer said. "We played them well to start, but just couldn't gather ourselves once Lovell took the lead."

The boys also dropped their next game to Powell, 21-24.

"This was a tough loss for us as we were ahead a majority of the game," said Shaffer. "We gave up some late fast breaks off turnovers, but in the end we still had a chance to get the last shot. A lot of heartbreak in this one, but we stuck it out and played well after going through a loss against Lovell."

The boys ended the day on a high note, though, coming out on top of Lander, 27-13.

"With only scoring five points in the first half, we came out a little slow for this game," Shaffer said. "I am sure being the last game of the day didn't help, but the boys responded well and put up 22 points in the second half.

"This was a good game to end on as we walked away with a win, but more importantly, it again showed the improvement of many of the players."

The A team conference will be held in Worland this Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.