Bobcats win against Greybull

The Bobcat boys basketball team split a pair of games last week, taking the "W" against Greybull, 54-53, but pulling the "L" when it came to Lander, 37-88.

Coach Shane Corpening said, "This was an interesting game from start to finish."

Greybull came into the game shooting 15-percent from the three-point line. They had only made eight three-pointers all season, however, they were red hot from beyond the arc on Tuesday night.

"They hit 10 of 20 three-pointers on us," Corpening said. "That really helped them to stay in the game and it obviously wasn't something that we saw on tape. I felt like we were contesting their shots just fine, but they really had a good night shooting the ball.

"Obviously sometimes that happens in the game of basketball. We also didn't get off to a great start defensively."

The Cats trailed by seven at the end of the first quarter and really didn't find their offensive rhythm until the second half.

Defensively, Corpening thought Greybull had a good game plan against the Cats, switching all screens/dribble hand offs and they really sagged into the paint.

"We have an aggressive attacking offense that tries to get into the gaps and establish penetration," Corpening said. "They really took that away from us and forced us to take some outside shots."

Offensively, the Cats did just enough to stay in the game, but they really broke through in the third quarter as their full court press created some timely turnovers they were able to convert into points.

"It was a neck and neck game in the fourth quarter until we made some huge plays down the stretch and were able to secure the win," Corpening said.

McCoy Longwell had a big game off the bench, finishing with 11 points and some critical steals in the second half.

Hardy Johnson also had a nice game, popping in 13 points and making two plays in the fourth quarter that really secured the win for the team. He had a steal on defense that he was able to convert for two points and a huge three-point shot that gave the Cats a one point lead with only a few minutes left on the clock.

Jase Longwell had a career night of scoring, adding 18 points to the scoreboard. Offensively, he kept the Cats in the fight in the first half and he knocked down some big shots in the second half.

In regards to the Lander game, "We knew this one would be difficult. Lander is a really good basketball team. They will certainly be in the mix for a state championship this year."

Corpening felt the boys played okay in the first quarter from an offensive standpoint. They were getting good looks on their end and converting them, however, they really struggled defensively.

"They have some guards that are lightning quick and we were seemingly playing on our heels all night," he said. "We struggled to rotate defensively.

"Truthfully, we haven't had much time to work on our half-court defense this season, so I will take that one."

The second half the Bobcats started to clean that up – the backside help was arriving quicker, but they were almost over helping and they were savvy enough on offense to find the open guy and knock down the shot.

"They shot the ball incredibly well against us at 65-percent from the field," Corpening said. "Offensively in the second half we were getting good looks. I felt like we got the ball in the paint, but we missed a pile of layups.

"Those are the things that we will continue to work on in practice and hopefully improve on."

The boys will hit the road to take on Newcastle Friday and then Douglas on Saturday.