Bobcats fall in two at regionals

 The varsity Bobcat boys basketball team traveled to Mountain View last week for 3A West Regional Tournament action.

In their first game, the Bobcats went up against Lyman, losing 51-73 at the final buzzer.

“I thought our team came out and played really well in the first half against Lyman. No one was really able to gain an edge in the first half as both teams were trading buckets,” said coach Shane Corpening.

He added, “Offensively, we came out and really shot the ball well in the first half. Gavin, Cord, and Kanyon all knocked down some huge three pointers that kept us afloat. Truthfully, it was probably the best we have shot all season.”

In the first half, the boys struggled on the defensive end to contain Lyman. “They do pose some matchup problems for us as they have three guys that are around 6’5. We gave up a lot of easy looks in the paint that we normally don’t give up,” said coach Corpening.

Lyman also shot the ball incredibly well on Thursday (58% from the field). 

“We had a couple bad turnovers early coupled with Lyman going on a bit of a run to kick the second half off. I was really proud of our team’s effort. They did not quit in this game and battled all the way until the end. I thought Gavin Shumway played one of his best games as a Bobcat scoring a really efficient 20 points,” said coach Corpening.

Kanyon Gerber gave the team a huge lift off the bench scoring 10 points and hitting some really big shots. Cord Simeral and McCoy Longwell chipped in for 12 and 9 points. 

In the loser-out game on Friday, the Bobcats played Pinedale, losing 58-72.

“At regionals you want to be playing your best basketball of the season and anyone who watched this game could see that the boys did exactly that. We led throughout most of this game, and we really did a good job both offensively and defensively,” said coach Corpening.

He added, “We hit a snag late in the fourth quarter where we went empty offensively for too many possessions and defensively, Pinedale hit some really tough contested three pointers that really sealed the deal for them. Once again, the boys fought incredibly hard until the end and I’m extremely proud of their effort.”

Longwell played his best game as a Bobcat scoring 17 points and adding a few assists and rebounds. Simeral scored 9 points and got 8 rebounds, Shumway scored 9 and grabbed 6 rebounds, Brody Potter scored 8 and grabbed 5 rebounds.

“I thought Del Dukes and Zak Hastie also gave us a huge lift off the bench, ” said coach Corpening. 

 He added, “Overall, I felt like the boys played some of their best basketball of the season. Both Lyman and Pinedale are really talented teams and we hung in there with them throughout most of the game.”

The Bobcats did not qualify to compete at the State Tournament this week.