Archive for the 'Boys Basketball' Category
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Talking tie-breakers
Here’s part of an e-mail I got from Cheyenne East boys basketball coach Damon Artery about the tie-breaking procedures for the Class 4A East Conference. This is important because if East falls to Gillette tonight and rebounds by beating Sheridan on Saturday, both teams will have 7-3 league records.
1. Head-to-head conference competition between and among the tied teams.
As stated above, if East beats Sheridan, but loses to Gillette, both teams will be 7-3 in the conference. However, Sheridan won at its place and East would have won at home as well. That forces us to go to the next tie-breaker scenario.
2. If a tie still exists, compare the records of the tied teams against the record of the highest-ranking non-tied team. Continue through the Conference standings until the tie is broken.
The teams would automatically go to the next tie-breaker because both teams would have lost to Gillette twice and each other once and would have the exact same record against the other teams in the league.
3. If a tie still exists, head-to-head conference competition between the tied teams at neutral sites. (Season Tournaments)
This tie-breaker is null and void because Sheridan and East never played a neutral site game against each other.
4. If a tie still exists, compare the records of the tied teams against the record of the highest ranking 4A non-conference opponent at a common site. Continue through the 4A non-conference standings until the tie is broken.
This is where Sheridan wins the tie-breaker, the East Conference’s No. 2 seed and an automatic berth to the 4A state tourney. The Broncs won in Rock Springs, while East lost there.
Here are the remainder of the tie-breaking scenarios in case you’re interested.
5. If a tie still exists, compare the records of the tied teams against the record of the highest ranking 4A non-conference opponent. Continue through the 4A non-conference standings until the tie is broken.
6. If a tie still exists, the tie shall be broken with the flip of a coin.
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Unpublished prep preview
Every now and then the WTE sports staff is a little too prolific for its own good and we produce way more copy than we have space in our section. Such was the case yesterday. As a result, the following “prep preview” had to be left out of Friday’s WTE because we didn’t have room for it.
Its ticket to state already is punched, but that doesn’t mean the Cheyenne East girl basketball team is content to rest on its laurels.
In fact, the No. 1-ranked Lady Thunderbirds want nothing less than to end their season by extending their current 16-game winning streak to 23 – two more regular season wins and then the five necessary to win a state title.
East (19-2 overall, 8-0 Class 4A East Conference) puts that streak on the line when it plays at fourth-ranked Gillette (15-6, 4-4) at 7:30 tonight. It closes out the regular season at Sheridan (12-8, 3-5) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
“Now that we’ve won our conference, we, as coaches, hope the kids will relax a little bit and we’ll see a little more out of them,” first-year coach Rusty Horsley said. “We’ve been a little bit tight offensively and not executing as well as we need to early in the past six or seven games.
“We’ve been getting off to slow starts, but they usually work it out. The kids are still working their tails off; we just hope they’ll relax a little more.”
Cheyenne Central (15-6, 4-4) can lock up third place with a sweep this weekend. It travels to Sheridan for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off tonight and to Gillette at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Boys basketball
The first scenario for Cheyenne East (14-6, 6-2) is simple: beat Gillette and Sheridan and lock up sole possession of the No. 2 seed at next weekend’s Class 4A East Regional and a berth at state.
But should the fourth-ranked T-Birds fall to No. 1 and unbeaten Gillette and beat second-ranked Sheridan, they would have the same league mark as Sheridan, forcing a series of tiebreakers.
The Broncs might own the edge in that scenario based on the highest ranking opponent from the other 4A conference at a common site.
Sheridan downed Rock Springs in Rock Springs; East lost there.
The task of pulling the sweep was made a little tougher this week when sophomore guard Nikko Johnson was suspended for what coach Damon Artery calls an internal disciplinary issue.
Johnson – who leads the T-Birds in points (12.6), assists (3.2) and steals (2.6) per game – should be back for next weekend’s regional, Artery said.
East hosts Gillette (20-0, 8-0) at 7:30 tonight and Sheridan (14-6, 6-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Cheyenne Central (8-12, 1-7) plays the opposite schedule.
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Prep profile: Jeremy Ware
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Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Cheyenne East boys 65, Cheyenne Central 59
When his team needed it most, Trevon Hinker delivered.
The Cheyenne East sophomore wing had two steals that turned into two layups in the final minute of his game against crosstown rival Cheyenne Central on Saturday afternoon.
It was those two big plays from Hinker that sealed the 65-59 win for the Thunderbirds at Storey Gym. For the game, Hinker finished with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Sophomore wing Nikko Johnson and senior guard Jeremy Ware led East with their 15 points a piece.
What makes this loss so tough for the Indians to stomach is the fact they held a 57-56 lead with 1 minute, 28 seconds left. It was the first time Central led in the game, and it appeared as if it had taken control of the momentum. That is until Hinker’s two steals buried the Indians.
Senior forward Josh Reynolds finished with a game-high 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting for the Indians.
The win gives the T-Birds the season sweep over Central, and the win improves their record to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the Class 4A East Conference. The Indians are now 8-10 and 1-5.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Nothing in life is free
It’s not all that surprising that senior post Colby Harrison gets to the free-throw line more than any of his Cheyenne East teammates because of the amount of contact that happens on the low block. The Thunderbirds are a poor free throw shooting team and Harrison was a reflection of that heading into last Friday’s game with Scottsbluff, Neb.
Harrison, a 6-foot-6 three-year letterman, was shooting 44 percent (24-for-55) from the charity stripe. That total included a 3 of 11 performance in a 70-63 loss at Rock Springs the previous weekend.
Harrison has taken that horrendous outing and tried to turn it into something positive. Although East has only played one game since that Rock Springs loss, it should be noted that Harrison was 7-for-8 against Scottsbluff, which boosted his free throw percentage five whole points.
“I knew I had to step it up and I’ve been shooting as much as I can before and after practice, before games, basically any time I can,” Harrison said after East’s 65-54 loss to Scottsbluff. “I have to step up for my team. I need to keep working on it. Just because I shot good (against Scottsbluff) doesn’t mean I’m going to shoot good the next time out.
“I just have to stay focused and help my team out as much as I can.”
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Hometown heroes Part 1
Occasionally, we’ll do a feature called Hometown Heroes where we catch up with a former area high-school athlete having success at the college level. Obviously, we can’t always remember every area athlete, what school they’re at and what sport they’re playing.
Here’s the list of local athletes playing college basketball that I came up with off the top of my head.
Jasmine Belin, Cheyenne East, Casper College
Desmond Blue, Cheyenne Central, Lee University (Cleveland, Tenn.)
Seth Ganison, Cheyenne East, redshirting at Laramie County Community College
Lindsey Fearing, Cheyenne Central, Casper College
Tyler Kimzey, Pine Bluffs, Laramie County Community College
Lara Merritt, Cheyenne East, University of Northern Colorado (Greeley)
Tom Parks, Cheyenne Central, Youngstown State University (Ohio)
Kaleb Rehmer, Cheyenne East, South Dakota School of Mines (Rapid City)
Trey Stephens, Cheyenne Central, Presentation College (Aberdeen, S.D.)
Travis Werner, Pine Bluffs, redshirting at Laramie County Community College
Did I miss anybody?
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
East is playing defense
Cheyenne East boys basketball coach Damon Artery and seniors Jerel Rote and Colby Harrison talked about a handful of things when I went by the Thunderdome to do my preseason interviews, but the Thunderbirds playing better defense was a recurring theme. Because of that, I decided to center my East advance around the T-Birds’ quest to play better team defense.
One thing I touched on in that story — and was sure to ask Artery about — was whether that was actually possible. I’ve been around and on teams that spent a great deal of time talking about the need to play better defense and how they were going to do it. I can’t really remember any of those teams actually playing better defense, so I was pretty skeptical about East’s improved team defense.
There’s a difference between saying you’re going to play better defense and actually making the effort to improve in an area that goes largely unnoticed by casual observers. Like I wrote in the preseason advance, there are a lot of guys who don’t want to expend the energy necessary to be a good defender because they’re afraid it’s going to hamper them on the offensive end of the court.
Thus far, the T-Birds are playing better defense. They’re currently second in Class 4A, giving up just 53.9 points per outing. Evanston heads the list at 49.6. The good stats don’t end there for East. Here’s a look at some other defensive categories they rank highly in:
Opponents field goal percentage: 38.5 (2nd to Sheridan)
Opponents 3-point percentage: 27 (Tied for 2nd with Sheridan and Gillette)
Steals per game: 10.9 (4th)
Per game turnover margin: nearly plus-1
East is a fairly surprising 7-2 heading into Friday’s game at Green River and I don’t think it’s any secret why. Playing good defense is putting the T-Birds in positions to win ballgames. If they keep this up, they could make some noise late in the season.
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Winter’s first impressions
I got a chance to see both the Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East boys and girls basketball teams play over the weekend. I think it could be a good year for prep basketball in the Capital City.
The East girls are the cream of the crop among the city squads. The Thunderbirds return so much experience and it shows. They completely outclassed Windsor, Colo., and Riverton. They let Star Valley back into that win late, but it’s clear East’s girls are a state championship contender. Seneca Lucero deftly ran the point and looked nothing like a player in her first year of full varsity ball. She had gotten spot minutes off the bench the past few years, but watching her over the weekend, it’s clear she’s been putting her work in and the talent of those around her probably kept her on the bench for as long as she was. It’s hard to get on the court when the players around you are just a little bit better than you. Jazmyn Webster is a freak athletically and proved it with seven blocks against Windsor. I’ll have a story on her defensive ability in the not so distant future.
The Central girls have very little experience returning, but could be a spoiler come February and March. The makings of a good team are there, they just need some seasoning. Like Lucero, Raven St. Clair is another first-year point guard who did a solid job at the McDonald’s Classic. The Indians could have a good “Twin Towers” tandem in senior Katelyn Means and sophomore Christie Schiel. Keaton Ross and Cassidy Ayala could also be solid contributors for this squad this season.
The Central boys are very athletic and can shoot the ball well. There were times in the Indians’ win over Casper Natrona County that senior post Jamarlyn Muter was an absolute beast. He blocked some shots, grabbed some boards on both ends and scored a little. Rebounding is going to be a big key for the Indians with how much they shoot from the outside. Also impressive were Josh Reynolds and Chris Martinez. Central could have a nice little post rotation with those two and Muter.
The East boys could be much better than expected. Star Valley and Riverton weren’t exactly the toughest tests … for that matter neither was preseason No. 2-ranked Casper Natrona, but the Thunderbirds passed all three. The T-Birds are going to have to shoot free throws much better than they did against Natrona if they’re going to be in the thick of things come March. Natrona came out absolutely frigid shooting-wise against East. Some of that could be attributed to the fact East was the Mustangs’ second game of the day. Nonetheless, Natrona would have struggled hitting water from a boat in the middle of Lake Absarraca on Friday night. Once The Mustangs started getting some life, they turned the game into a free-throw shooting contest and East survived 52-41 despite hitting just 27 of 48 free throws.
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
There have been better days
The Syracuse-Connecticut men’s basketball game that’s on my hotel room TV is everything three of the state tournament games I witnessed today were not — back-and-forth. For those that haven’t watched tonight’s game, they’re headed into their SIXTH overtime session as I write this. That’s only after UConn tied it late in regulation and Syracuse had a 3-pointer waived off at the buzzer.
But that’s neither here nor there. Instead, here are some random thoughts on the first day of the Class 4A state basketball tournament. Let’s just say it wasn’t a good day for Capital City teams. East and Central combined to go 0-for-4.
The most exciting state tournament game for Cheyenne teams was the Central girls’ 47-44 loss to Casper Kelly Walsh. The Indians trailed by 11 in the fourth, but fought back and had chances to knot the score.
The Cheyenne East girls game had exciting moments. Namely when East went on a 10-0 run and narrowed Rock Springs’ lead to 14-13. The Lady Thunderbirds played darned good basketball during that stretch. They finished shots and held Rock Springs scoreless on six straight possessions. That stretch included five straight turnovers.
But East — by coach Jon Will’s admission — came out flat. But atleast it showed signs of life. The same can’t be said for the East and Central boys.
Both of those teams trailed by identical 26-5 scores at the half. East fell to Casper Natrona County 65-23 and Central lost to Green River 57-30. They were games where almost anything that could go wrong did.
Natrona’s boys have been the top-ranked team in the state for most of the season and looked every bit the part Thursday. The Mustangs face Green River — the only team to beat them this season — in today’s semifinals. That could be a pretty darned good game.
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
Class 4A Regional Hoops Pairings
The brackets haven’t been officially updated yet, but I’m pretty confident these are going to be the regional tournament pairings for the Class 4A East boys and girls and the Class 4A West boys. The Class 4A West girls is going to take some crazy tie-breaking as Casper Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs and Casper Natrona County all went 8-2 in league play. To make matters worse each team went 2-2 against the others with no team owning a sweep over another.
Anyway, here are the 4A East boys and girls and 4A East boys pairings. I’m about to hit the road to head on home to Cheyenne. Hopefully, they have the headache of the 4A West girls figured out once I get there.
PREP BASKETBALL
REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Seed in parentheses.
CLASS 4A EAST
at Riverton
GIRLS
Thursday
Game 1: (3) Sheridan vs. (6) Riverton, 3:30 p.m., loser out
Game 2: (4) Cheyenne Central vs. (5) Laramie, 7:15 p.m., loser out
Friday
Game 3: (2) Cheyenne East vs. Game 1 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 4: (1) Gillette vs. Game 2 winner, 7:15 p.m.
Saturday
Third place: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 10 a.m.
Championship: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 1:45 p.m.
BOYS
Thursday
Game 1: (3) CheyenneCentral vs. (6) Riverton, 5:15 p.m., loser out
Game 2: (4) Sheridan vs. (5) Laramie, 9 p.m., loser out
Friday
Game 3: (2) Cheyenne East vs. Game 1 winner, 5:15 p.m.
Game 4: (1) Gillette vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m.
Saturday
Third place: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 11:45 a.m.
Championship: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A WEST
BOYS
Thursday
Game 1: (3) Casper Kelly Walsh vs. (6) Rock Springs, 5:30 p.m., loser out
Game 2: (4) Evanston vs. (5) Star Valley, 9 p.m., loser out
Friday
Game 3: (2) Green River vs. Game 1 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: (1) Casper Natrona County vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m.
Saturday
Third place: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 11:30 a.m.
Championship: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m.