Grizz sweep Shoshoni as conference tournaments near

The Rocky Mountain Grizzly middle school squads won four of five games last week as they near the end of the regular season.
Thursday in Basin, the eighth-grade squad had the night off since the Grizz had walloped Riverside 41-8 a week earlier, so the “B” team played Riverside’s “A” team in a game won by Riverside 24-17 but officially considered to be a forfeit for conference purposes for both the Rocky eighth-grade team and the seventh graders.
Riverside took a 16-9 lead into the locker room at halftime, and the two foes played to an 8-8 draw in the second half. Jaxson Sponsel led the Grizz with 11 points, and Jaxx May added 4 points, Lukas Miller 2.
The Rocky “C” team stopped the Riverside “B” team 26-23. The Grizz and Rebels were tied 6-6 after the first quarter, but Rocky shut out the home team 8-0 in the second quarter to lead 14-6 at halftime. The Grizz led 19-12 after three and held off a Riverside rally in the fourth.
Dally Malson, Ty Samson and Dane Wilson scored 6 points each, Hudson Moore and Madden Cooley 4 apiece.
Saturday in Shoshoni, the Grizzlies pulled off a three-game sweep over the Wranglers.
The Grizzly eighth graders stopped Shoshoni 36-19 to move their season record to 13-2 including the Riverside forfeit. The Wranglers tried essentially a “box and two” defense against the Grizz, with two players shadowing Mason Moss throughout the game, but it didn’t matter as the Grizzlies outscored the home team in the first three quarters, 12-5, 9-2 and 12-5 to build a 33-12 lead. Shoshoni won the fourth 7-3, but it was far too little, too late.
Cooper Winland led the Grizzlies with 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Cooper Ward added 12 points, Moss 9 and Zach Unruh 2. Ward snared eight rebounds, Moss seven, and Unruh led with four steals.
Rocky won the B game 25-17, like the eighth graders building a strong lead after three quarters, 20-11. Sponsel and May scored 9 points each, Miller 5 and Cameron Minchow 2. May pulled down eight rebounds, Sponsel six.
The RMMS “C” team ran its record to 10-1 with a 35-10 win over Shoshoni, winning all four quarters, 9-3, 10-0, 10-3 and 6-4. Moore scored 8 points, Cooley, Samson and Wilson 6 each, Malson 5 and Brooks Brost 4. Malson grabbed 11 rebounds, and Cooley had seven steals.
As a program, the Rocky Mountain Middle School squads are a combined 33-10 on the season.
Conference tournaments
It’s tournament time for the Grizz, but first the sixth-grade team will host Burlington today (Thursday) at 4:15 p.m. to conclude their season.
The Big Horn Conference tournaments will take place Saturday, with the eighth grade in Burlington and the seventh grade in Greybull. The Grizzly eighth graders are the number one seed in their tournament and will play at 10:15 a.m. after an opening-round bye. The seventh graders will play at 9 a.m. in Greybull as the third seed.