Grizzlies win one of three games at Wrangler Invitational

The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies completed their pre-holiday schedule in Shoshoni Friday and Saturday, winning one of three games at the Wrangler Invitational.

The Grizz fell to Class 3A Lyman Friday, 61-48, rebounded to stop Dubois Saturday morning, 49-33, then dropped the finale to Cokeville, 39-31.

The tournament sends the Grizzlies into the Christmas break with a 4-4 record.

“We battled, and we were competitive all weekend long,” head coach Pat Winland said. “One thing we improved on was our defensive rebounding. However, unforced turnovers continue to haunt us. There was a little bit of pressure on us but something we ought to be able to handle.”

Lyman

The Grizzlies found themselves in a hole early against the Lyman Eagles Friday as they trailed 17-9 after the first quarter and 36-22 at halftime. The Grizz were within striking distance at 27-20 in the second quarter, but Lyman went on a 9-2 run to close out the half.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early with some costly turnovers, got down real quick and spent most of the rest of the game down 10 to 15 points,” Winland said. “Our shot selection and turnovers were the theme of the game.

“We did outscore them in the second half (26-25).”

Winland said the team did get the deficit under 10 in the second half, but Lyman pulled away again.

Cole Minchow and Alex Hedges scored 11 points each to lead the Grizzlies, and Joaquin Scheeler, filling in for an injured Hudson May, added 10 points, Bryce Haslem 7, Lafe Files 5 and Tucker Jackson and Cooper Winland 2 apiece. Jackson added eight rebounds and three steals, Hedges seven rebounds, and Haslem led the team with three assists.

Dubois

The Grizz came out much stronger against Dubois Saturday afternoon, outscoring the Rams 15-10 in the first quarter and 10-5 in the second to lead 25-15 at halftime. The Grizz continued to pull away, outscoring the Rams 24-18 in the second half.

“They were scrappy,” Winland noted. “(Nate) Hinkle was averaging around 20 points per game, but Alex and Bryce did a heck of a job on him, holding him to 7 points. It really forced Dubois to look for other options.

“On our end, we were well balanced with everybody getting in the book.”

Minchow led the way with 14 points, and Haslem scored 9, Files 8, Hedges 6, Jackson 5, Scheeler 4 and Winland 3. Hedges snared 13 rebounds, Jackson eight and Files four.

Cokeville

The Grizz found themselves in quite a tussle against a strong Cokeville team Saturday afternoon and ended up dropping the contest 39-31. Playing two games in three-plus hours, Winland said his team’s legs were suffering a bit in the contest.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, and we only got to the free throw line five times, but we were competitive the whole game against one of the top 1A teams in the state (ranked third),” he said.

Cokeville led 9-8 after the first quarter and 17-15 at halftime. Rocky took a 27-25 lead after the third quarter but could hit only two baskets in the fourth as Cokeville won the quarter 14-4 to win the game.

“It was 29-29, and then we could not buy a basket the rest of the game,” Winland noted. “We had to foul, and they got a couple and-ones and pulled away.

Files led the team with 11 points, and Minchow added 9, Winland 7 and Haslem and Scheeler 2 each.

“We’re not going to win very many games if Tucker and Alex aren’t scoring,” Winland said, noting that Jackson and Hedges were scoreless. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting them the ball in the offense.”

On the other hand, Winland had nothing but praise for Hedges’ overall game.

“Alex had a great weekend with his rebounding and helping to shut down Dubois’ leading scorer. For being an undersized post, he does a good job. And Joaquin gave us some good minutes off the bench with Hudson being out.”

Jackson had six rebounds against Cokeville, Hedges five.

After the holiday break, the Grizzlies will have a pair of challenging 3A opponents on the schedule to start the new year, traveling to Powell on Thursday, Jan. 9, and Lovell on Friday, Jan. 10, with games both nights at 4 (JV) and 7 p.m.

Winland said the team will take the week off
from practice and resume the schedule on Monday, Dec. 30.