by nathan oster
They didn’t get the ending they were hoping for, but the Greybull Buffs left Riverton on Saturday a satisfied bunch, accomplishing their goal of qualifying for this weekend’s State 2A Boys Basketball Championships in Casper.
“It sure beats thinking about checking in your gear on Monday,” laughed Coach Jim Prather, who will be taking a team to state for the first time since winning it all in 2006. “We entered the weekend with one goal: win two before we lost two.
“We were able to take care of that the first two days, which was fantastic for the players because it took all of the pressure off of them.”
It was an interesting weekend, to say the least, for the Buffs, who sandwiched a masterpiece between two games they’d rather forget — an opening round game Thursday against Saratoga that was closer than anyone expected, 36-28, and a finale on Saturday in which they were thoroughly dominated by Wyoming Indian, 65-39.
The game that ensured the Buffs a trip to Casper, though, was Friday night’s rousing 49-44 win over a Kemmerer team that had handed the Chiefs their only loss of the regular season and roughed up Rocky Mountain in its opener Thursday.
“In a nutshell, the kids played really well when it mattered the most,” said Prather. “Not to say a regional championship doesn’t matter, because it would have been a worthy accomplishment. But our first and foremost task was to get to Casper — and the kids did that. I was extremely happy with their play, and they are excited, too. They got it done.”
Saratoga
Saratoga needed a win earlier in the day over Shoshoni just to qualify for the 2A West Regional and was a big underdog heading into their game with the Buffs. But the Panthers didn’t play like it, hung around and were within three with just three minutes to play before the top seeds finished with a flourish.
The Buffs raced out to a 17-5 lead early, but went “stagnant” after their leading scorer, Sean Sylvester, was forced to the bench with foul trouble. “We got good shots — they just didn’t go in,” said Prather.
For the game, the Buffs connected on 16 of 55 (29 percent) from the floor, including 2 of 13 from the behind the arc.
As they struggled, Saratoga rallied, closing the gap to eight, 22-14, after three and to three at one point late in the fourth quarter.
The Buffs found a way to win though, with Sylvester pouring in seven of his team’s 14 in the fourth.
“We faced a situation a lot of teams face on the opening days of tournaments,” said Prather. “When that happens, you have to rely on other things, and all year long, it’s been defense — and it was again.”
Sylvester led the Buffs with 11, while Austin Frazier chipped in eight.
“The kids never panicked,” said Prather. “They played hard, controlled the boards, and didn’t turn it over much. Aside from it being a poor shooting night, they did what they needed to do and got the win.”
Kemmerer
After showering up, the Buffs quickly headed down the street to Central Wyoming College to watch Kemmerer-Rocky Mountain, knowing they’d have the winner in Friday night’s semifinal. What they witnessed was a complete dismantling of a Rocky Mountain team that had given them two good tests during the regular season. At one point, Kemmerer led it 47-7.
Prather and his boys left the gym at the half, impressed but not intimidated.
“They were everything I had seen on film — big, physical, extremely athletic,” Prather said. “But I thought they were a team we could compete with and beat. Our kids were confident, we had a game plan, we knew what we needed to do to capitalized on our strengths and neutralize some of Kemmerer’s strengths.”
The Greybull press was the key, Prather said. While it didn’t force that many turnovers, it “pushed them away from the basket and from the style they are used to playing,” said Prather. “Our kids did a nice job controlling the tempo and the pace.”
Prather said he noticed in scouting the Rangers that they would frequently ask their top big man, Eric Robinson, to be a primary ballhandler when hit with a tough press. “We figured if we could force them to make that change, it would work to our advantage,” he said. “Robinson 35 feet from the basket was less of a threat to us than him posting up on the block.”
Robinson was limited to eight points by the Buffs.
Offensively, the Buffs spread the floor, made good use of screens, and sizzled, particularly early, hitting 14 of 18 from the field in the opening half. For the game, they finished 20 of 35 (57 percent).
“We played as well as we had played to that point in the season,” Prather said.
Sylvester and Frazier posted matching 14s to lead the offense.
Wyoming Indian
It was a different story Saturday night against Wyoming Indian, which brought its usual following to the Riverton High School Gym — and certainly didn’t disappoint, building a 32-1 lead after one quarter and coasting to the 65-39 win.
“Everything we did well against Kemmerer … Wyoming Indian did well against us,” Prather said. “They were tremendous defensively with their pressure, which made it difficult for us to initiate any semblance of an offense. And on their end, they shot the lights out (12 of 14 in the first quarter alone).”
“We had talked before the game how Wyoming Indian could come out and hit its first seven, or miss its first seven, but that what they do, they won’t deviate from. We just happened to hit them on a night when they hit their first seven. If their mascot would have been there and suited up, he probably would have thrown on in too.
“They simply dominated the game.”
Slade Spoonhunter did most of the damage, pouring in 15 points in the opening quarter en route to a 20-point game for the Chiefs.
The Buffs shot 35 percent (14-40) from the floor and turned it over 35 times.
Sylvester was the only double-figure scorer, finishing with 11.
State
With the regional behind them, the Buffs head to state this week needing no introduction to their opening-round opponent, Tongue River. The Buffs and the Eagles met twice, with the Eagles winning 73-55 on their home floor in January, and the Buffs routing the Eagles 63-36 in their home finale at Buff Gym last month.
As Patrick Wicks goes, so goes Tongue River. He netted 37 in the first meeting, just six in the second.
“We have to work from the mindset of the time they beat us, and use that as motivation,” Prather said. “Wicks is a huge part of what they do. If we can defend better than the first time, we’ve seen that good things happen — and that’s the way we’ll approach it.”
“Then it will come down to making some shots. We didn’t shoot well (at the regional), and I’d like us to be more consistent.”
The Buffs and the Eagles will square off at 7:30 tonight at the Casper Events Center.
The other two teams on the Buffs side of the bracket are Lovell, a team they’ve defeated twice, and Southeast, the only unbeaten 2A team in the state.
Greybull 11 9 2 14 — 36
Saratoga 2 5 7 14 — 28
GREYBULL — Austin Frazier 4 0-1 8, Jordan Jolley 1 1-2 3, Sean Sylvester 5 0-2 11, Braden Miller 2 0-0 5, Travis Sylvester 2 1-2 5, Seth Hoblit 0 0-1 0, Hayden Goton 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 2-8 36.
SARATOGA — Smith 0 1-2 1, Gates 1 1-1 3, Grubb 2 0-0 4, Collamer 3 0-0 9, Kennedy 4 0-1 8, Young 1 1-2 3. Totals 11 3-6 28.
3-POINT GOALS — Sylvester, Miller. REBOUNDS — Greybull 45 (Miller 12, Goton 10. STEALS — Greybull 12 (Frazier 4). ASSISTS — Greybull 9 (Frazier 4). TURNOVERS — Greybull 12.
Kemmerer 12 6 8 12 — 44
Greybull 12 20 8 9 — 49
GREYBULL — Frazier 6 2-6 14, Jolley 3 3-8 9, Sylvester 6 2-7 14, Miller 4 0-0 9, T. Sylvester 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 7-21 49.
KEMMERER — Wood 2 0-0 5, Corpening 3 1-4 9, Roberts 6 4-6 16, Dohrety 3 0-1 6, Robinson 3 1-3 8.
3-POINT GOALS — Miller, T. Sylvester. REBOUNDS — Greybull 25 (Sylvester 6). STEALS — Greybull 10 (Sylvester 4). ASSISTS — Greybull 15 (Sylvester, Frazier 4). TURNOVERS — Greybull 17.
Greybull 1 12 14 12 — 39
Wyo Indian 32 9 16 8 — 65
GREYBULL — Dillon McCoy 0 2-2 2, Frazier 4 1-3 10, Ryan Winkler 1 0-0 2, Jolley 2 1-2 5, Sylvester 3 6-7 12, Miller 1 0-0 2, T. Sylvester 1 0-1 2, Hoblit 1 0-2 2, Neil Getzfreid 0 0-1 0, Cody Duffy 0 0-2 0, Goton 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 10-20 39.
WYO. INDIAN — Ferris 5 0-2 14, Her Many Horses 0 2-2 2, Underwood 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 1 1-1 3, Spoonhunter 7 2-2 20, Soundingsides 4 2-2 12, Moss 1 0-0 2, Willow 3 0-2 8, Smith 1 0-2 2. Totals 23 7-13 65.
3-POINT GOALS — Frazier. REBOUNDS — Greybull 35 (Miller 7). STEALS — Greybull 5 (McCoy 2). ASSISTS — Greybull 8 (Sylvester 2). TURNOVERS — Greybull 35.