Grizzlies start conference season with sweep

There’s a reason the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies play a grueling pre-conference schedule year in and year out: to prepare the team for the rigors of the conference season. That prep work paid off over the weekend as the Grizz swept their opening 2A Northwest conference games with Greybull and Shoshoni.

The Grizz stopped Greybull in Greybull Friday night, 48-27, and pulled away from Shoshoni at home Saturday afternoon to top the Wranglers 49-43.

Rocky Mountain never trailed at Greybull Friday, though the Buffs were hanging tough trailing 7-6 after Carter Jacobs drained a three-pointer midway through the first quarter. But the Grizzlies finished the quarter with an 11-0 run to lead 18-6 at the quarter break. Senior Cole Minchow splashed a three-pointer to start the outburst, his second of five in the game, and freshman Mason Moss scored two baskets including the final score in the quarter when he stole a Greybull in-bounds pass and scored.

A steal and basket by Minchow and a free throw by Lafe Files boosted the Rocky lead to 21-6 early in the second quarter, and Rocky went on to lead 28-13 at halftime.

“It was great to see Cole come through with his shooting,” coach Pat Winland said. “I know he’s been working really hard on that, specifically his three-point shooting. We needed that Friday night. It opened some things up inside for us. That early lead put pressure on them to not be so patient in what they were doing.”

Rocky pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 13-6 as only two treys by Caden Hunt kept Greybull in the game. Minchow drilled a pair of treys, and Files hit a hook shot and a baseline jumper as Rocky led 41-19 after three.

A trey by Hudson May – Rocky’s sixth in the game – put the Grizz up 48-19 midway through the fourth before Winland cleared the bench and Greybull scored the last eight points in the game to make the final score 48-27.

Minchow finished with 17 points, and Moss and Files added 7 points each, Alex Hedges 6, Bryce Haslem and May 4 apiece, Tucker Jackson 3. Rocky shot 44.2 percent from the field, Greybull 25.6 percent. Rocky outrebounded Greybull 33-21.

Hedges added four rebounds and three steals, Jackson four boards and three assists. Cooper Winland led the team with five rebounds, and Files snared four. May led the team with four assists, and Haslem had four steals, Moss three.

“All around it was just a good defensive effort by everybody, and balanced scoring again helped us out,” Winland noted. “We got great minutes from our bench. I don’t think we fall off as much as the other teams in our conference.

“That was a good, solid win. The kids needed that. The fruit of their labors came in the form of two wins this weekend.”

Shoshoni

The Shoshoni Wranglers gave the Grizzlies all they wanted Saturday in Cowley. Shoshoni led 7-0 early, and the Grizz couldn’t buy a basket until May knocked down a trey three minutes into the game. Shoshoni went on to lead 14-9 at the quarter break.

The contest turned in the second quarter as the Grizzlies turned on the offense and outscored the visitors 18-2. Winland scored on a pair of power moves inside, Jackson converted two buckets and Minchow, May and Moss scored one basket each. Bryce Haslem and Moss each hit two free throws to add to the tally.

““We came out flat for some reason,” Winland said. “Our bench again came in and gave us some good minutes and got some easy baskets in the second quarter. Holding a team to 2 points helps, for sure.

“This group of kids really root for each other. They want to go to State, and to do that they know they need people to contribute whatever we need that night. It’s not always scoring points.”

Just as fast as the lead grew in the second quarter it evaporated in the third as Shoshoni came roaring back to tie the score 29-29 and 31-31 before the Grizzlies closed the quarter with a 7-0 mini-run on a Winland basket inside from Alex Hedges, a trey by Minchow and an offensive rebound and bank shot by Moss.

“We were getting good shots. They just weren’t falling,” Winland said. “I probably stayed in the zone a little bit too long. We played man the rest of the game.”

Leading 38-31 at the quarter break, the Grizz continued their run early in the fourth and led 43-31, then after Shoshoni attempted another comeback, hit six of six free throws in the final half minute to seal the victory.

Moss led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points, and May added 9, Minchow 7, Haslem, Jackson and Winland 6 each and Files 2. Jackson added seven rebounds and four blocked shots, Haslem four steals and three assists. Moss snared five rebounds, Winland four.

Thermop at home

The wins boosted the Grizz to 7-8 overall, 2-0 in the 2A Northwest, with a key conference game at home against top-ranked Thermopolis (10-3) Friday at 7 p.m. (JVs at 4). Saturday, the Grizzlies travel to Big Horn to take on the Rams at noon (JVs) and 3 p.m.

Winland said Thermop has two top players in Cody Bomengen (16.6 ppg, 8 rpg) and Brody Potter (15.5 ppg, 7 rpg).

“They’re both around 6-3 and are versatile. They play pretty much anywhere on the floor,” Winland said. “We need to limit those two as best we can and handle their pressure. I anticipate a full-court man-to-man press.”

Junior varsity

The Rocky Mountain JVs also swept Greybull and Shoshoni over the weekend. The young Grizzlies beat Greybull 38-21 and crushed Shoshoni 51-24.

Rocky led Greybull 9-7 after the first quarter Friday, then outscored the Buffs 10-2, 6-4 and 13-8 in the final three quarters. Kellan Jackson scored 8 points, Jaxon Hayes and Joaquin Scheeler 6 each, Jaxson Miller, Cooper Ward, Paul Seratt and Winland 4 each, Evin Clendenen 2.

The Grizz blasted out to a 16-3 lead by the end of the first quarter against Shoshoni Saturday and gradually pulled away from there, outscoring the Wranglers 35-21 the rest of the game. Scheeler scored 10, Hayes and Miller 9 each, Clendenen 7, Winland and Jackson 6 apiece, Ward and Travis Crosby 2 apiece.