Bobcats face Panthers in first game

The Hot Springs County High School Bobcat basketball team, were in Riverton last weekend for the 2A West Regional tournament. Having maintained the number one rank for much of the season, and finishing the regular season in first place in the 2A Northwest Quad, the Bobcats went into regionals as the number one seed from the Northwest.

To make it to the State Championships, the Bobcats needed two wins in the regional tournament. On Thursday night, the team met up with the Wind River Cougars at Riverton Middle School, and made quick work of their first win – by a score of 72-17.

Wind River has had a miserable season – coming into regionals winless in 22 games. The Cougars are not a bad team, but they are a very young team. While they do a good job of working for a good shooting opportunity, they have not quite reached the level of proficiency to see those opportunities translate into points.

Never turning away from adversity, however, the Cougars played hard, setting a great example for any team which faces tough times in a season. While one might hesitate to sign up to play for the Cougars when considering skill set, one would never hesitate to grab a chance to play for a team with their level of grit and sportsmanship. They have much of which to be proud.

Friday night found the Cats pitted against the Chiefs of Wyoming Indian. The Chiefs are always a challenge to play, and playing them in Riverton felt much like playing in hostile territory. The gym at Riverton High School is large, and sports bleacher seating is two-stories tall. Judging by the sound level from the crowd, one could be forgiven in thinking there was a seat filled by anyone other than a Wyoming Indian fan.

The Chiefs are almost legendary for their fast pace style of basketball, which can, and often has, caused opponents fits. This year's Bobcat team, however, operates at much the same frenetic speed, and thus, the game was anticipated to be a real treat for fans.

Throwing the Cats a curve-ball, the Chiefs played a much less speed oriented game, choosing instead to methodically work a half-court offense, which seemed to take the Bobcats out of their accustomed style of play. One would never say that the Cats are a bad half-court team, however, they really excel when the game speeds up, and their foot is on the gas.

In the end, the Bobcats were defeated by a score of 47-39, forcing them to play two games on Saturday, and needing another win to make it to state. Commenting on the loss, Coach Shane Corpening said, "They really did a good job of game planning against us. They played a much more patient style of offense than we have seen from them, and a much different offense that we had anticipated."

On Saturday morning, the Bobcats were locked in a loser-goes-home game with Kemmerer. Kemmerer had lost to Rocky Mountain on Thursday, but had defeated Greybull on Friday.

As they have from time-to-time, the Bobcats got off to a slow start, struggling to finish around the rim. By the second quarter, however, the team had settled into their high paced offense, and extended their lead, such that the Punchers were plagued by a running clock in the second half.

In the game, senior Dell Dukes nearly had a double/double – putting up nine points, together with ten steals. The Bobcats won the game by a score of 65-47, and thereby, they punched their ticket to the state championships.

But first, the Cats had to play the third-place game on Saturday afternoon. The atmosphere in the Riverton gym was grim. It was the last game of the tournament, and the crowd had thinned considerably - but the Cats had come to win.

The Bobcats final opponent, Rocky Mountain, had gone down to defeat against the Cats in their two regular season games, and the Grizzlies were hoping for some retribution. The Cats, however, took care of business, and won the game by a score of 61-38. Thermopolis will be the number three west seed at state. Rocky Mountain will be the number four seed.

The Bobcats will face the Wright Panthers on Thursday night, at 7 p.m. at Caspar Collage. The Cats had a spectacular win against the Panthers, on their home court, at the 2A Smackdown in January.

As for the state tournament, Coach Corpening said, "Our guys will be ready for whatever comes. We need to stay locked in and focused. If we take care of business, good things will follow."