Grizz clinch second place with weekend sweep

The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies sewed up second place in the 2A Northwest standings over the weekend by sweeping conference foes Greybull and Shoshoni for the second time this season.

Playing on senior night Friday, the Grizz defeated Greybull 62-50, and they traveled to Shoshoni Saturday, where they stopped the Wranglers 45-40.

In the Greybull game Friday, the two rivals traded baskets early, but a move and baseline jumper by Bryce Haslem, a three-pointer by Haslem and two free throws by Lafe Files put Rocky up 12-6 before Larry Longshore hit a trey for Greybull to close the quarter with the Grizz up 12-9.

“They’re going to be a tough out at Regionals,” Rocky head coach Pat Winland said. “They’ve gotten a lot better since the last time we played them.”

Greybull tied the score 12-1 early in the second quarter, but then it was Cole Time. Senior sharpshooter Cole Minchow drained three treys in the second quarter, and Mason Moss added two baskets as the Grizzlies outscored Greybull 16-10 the rest of the quarter to lead 28-22 at halftime.

Minchow and his teammates poured it on in the third quarter. Minchow drilled four treys after the Buffs closed the deficit to two points at 28-26. Rocky finished the quarter on a 20-9 run to lead 48-35 after three quarters. Indeed, three was the number of the quarter. Besides Minchow’s three pointers, he also hit three of three free throws, and Tucker Jackson converted a three-point play (bucket and free throw). Cooper Winland also scored on an assist from Alex Hedges.

Minchow hit all manner of treys: in transition, in the half-court offense and with defenders in his face.

“When you play a team that plays zone, you’ve got to be efficient from the outside,” Winland said. “That night we were, especially Cole. That’s a product of him spending hours and hours in the gym during the offseason. And the thing about it was how his teammates were supporting him and cheering him on.”

Greybull hit a pair of treys of their own in the fourth and outscored the Grizzlies 15-14, but it was far too little and too late.

“We pressed the whole game and stayed in our (2-3) zone,” Winland said. “They had some kids step up and hit some shots to keep it respectable.”

Rocky shot 50 percent from the field in the game including nine of 20 shots from three-point range. The Grizz also hit 13 of 16 free throws.

Minchow finished with 28 points, and Haslem added 8, Moss and Hudson May 6 each, Jackson and Files 5 apiece and Hedges and Winland 2 each. Jackson snared six rebounds, Winland five, and Haslem and Minchow dished off four assists each, Winland three. Hedges led with four steals.

Shoshoni

Minchow was hot again in Shoshoni Saturday, scoring 23 points and hitting five three-pointers.

“Cole had another good game,” Winland said. “He played within the offense again and got some great looks from his teammates.”

Rocky trailed 5-4 early, but Minchow drained a three ball and the Grizzlies never trailed again, Winland said. Minchow scored 8 points in the first quarter, Moss 5, as the Grizz built a 15-10 lead in the first quarter. Minchow and Moss hit treys in the second quarter, and the Grizzlies clamped down on defense, outscoring the home team 10-3 to lead 25-13 at halftime.

The Grizz led 34-24 after three and built the lead to 43-27 in the fourth quarter before Shoshoni finished the game with a flourish to cut the final margin to five points, 45-40.

“They hit threes (three in the quarter), and we didn’t shoot free throws well to finish it off (4-10),” Winland said. “We were trading zero points for threes for a while.”

After Minchow’s 23 points, May and Moss scored 5 points each, Haslem and Jackson 4 apiece, Hedges and Winland 2 each. Moss pulled down six rebounds, and Winland had four assists, Moss three. Hedges led with three steals.

The win improved the Grizzlies to 10-10 on the season and 4-1 in the 2A Northwest with one game to play.

“We’ve locked up second place,” Winland said. “Those seniors have been through a lot over the last couple of years. I’m happy for them to find some success.”

Winland said it looks like the Grizzlies will play Kemmerer in the first round of the regional tournament February 27 in Riverton.

Final game

The Grizzlies will close out the regular season Friday at Thermopolis, the top-ranked team in Class 2A. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 (JV) and 7 p.m. Thermopolis beat the Grizz 52-30 January 31 in Cowley.

“We’ll go down and try to make ‘em earn it,” Winland said. “They’re number one for a reason. We’ll probably start preparing for Kemmerer this week, and playing Thermop will help us.”

JVs

The Rocky JVs also swept Greybull and Shoshoni this week, topping Greybull 46-32 Friday and Shoshoni 47-38 Saturday.

Friday at home, the Grizzlies outscored Greybull 22-15 in the first half and 24-17 in the second to cruise to victory. Evin Clendenen scored 12 points, Joaquin Scheeler 9, Kellan Jackson 8, Jaxson Miller 7, Winland 6, Jaxon Hayes 3 and Travis Crosby 1.

Saturday in Shoshoni, the Grizz outscored the Wranglers 30-17 in the first half, and though Shoshoni won the second half 21-17, the Grizz won by nine.

Scheeler poured in 20 points for the Grizz, and Hayes, Miller and Clendenen added 5 points each, Winland 4, Jackson and Cooper Ward 3 and Crosby 2.

The Rocky Mountain freshmen were scheduled to play at Riverside Tuesday evening, but the game was cancelled.
The Grizz finished the season with an 8-2 record.