Grizzlies win one of three games at Wrangler Invitational

It’s a growing and learning process for the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies as the still developing team learns to play together.
The up and down nature of a young team was evident during the Wrangler Invitational in Shoshoni Friday and Saturday as the Grizzlies were edged by Saratoga Friday, 66-65, were crushed by Kemmerer Saturday 60-27 and defeated Dubois 62-47 Saturday night.
The Grizz had beaten Burlington 51-44 Tuesday night in Burlington.
“In the Burlington and Saratoga games I liked our competitiveness,” coach Pat Winland said. “Those games are fun to coach. I was pleased to see our growth.
“On the other hand, we took a few steps back in our efforts against Kemmerer but bounced back with a better performance against Dubois.”
Winland said Saratoga is a quality team that “should be in the thick of things” in Class 1A this year. The Panthers are undefeated on the season at 6-0.
The game was close all the way Friday afternoon, with Saratoga taking a 17-16 lead after the first quarter but Rocky leading 30-28 at halftime. A more than three-quarter-court three-point laser by Lafe Files – showing off his quarterbacking and pitching arm – at the end of the third quarter kept Rocky up 49-48 after three.
The Grizz trailed 64-63 with 18 seconds left in the game, but using a play drawn up by assistant coach Jeff Samson and practiced during the week, Files curled around a screen and took a pass from Bryce Haslem for the go-ahead basket. Rocky led 65-64 as the final seconds ticked away.
A block was called on Alex Hedges with five seconds left, and Saratoga hit both free throws to lead 66-65 as Winland called time out between the two attempts. Haslem raced the length of the court after the second “make,” but his layup at the buzzer was blocked, and Saratoga prevailed by one point.
The Grizzlies had good offensive production in the game as Cole Minchow fired in 21 points and Files 18. Noah Johnson added 10, Tucker Jackson 8 and Hedges and Max Cooley 4 each. Hedges pulled down 15 rebounds, Jackson eight, and Haslem, Hedges and Files finished with four assists apiece.
Kemmerer loss
Game two Saturday afternoon was all Kemmerer as the Rangers blew out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter. The Grizz fought back to outscore Kemmerer 17-5 in the second quarter to trail 25-17 at halftime, but the Rangers reasserted themselves in the second half to outscore the Grizz 35-10 for the 60-27 win.
“The kids were missing shots they’d been making, and they started pressing a little bit,” Winland said of the slow start. “We missed a few layups, and it snowballed from there. A little bit of pouting and feeling sorry for ourselves didn’t help matters, but we did fight back in the second quarter. We started hitting a few shots and played better defense.
“It helped that they had some foul trouble, but Alex was also in foul trouble, which hurt our rebounding. He only played 17 minutes. We came out flat as can be (in the second half). It was a game we’ll watch and break down on film.”
The Grizz shot only 13.6 percent from the field in the game, compared to Kemmerer’s 43.5 percent, and they were outrebounded 37-27.
Files led the team with 7 points, and Tucker Jackson and Johnson scored 5 each, Minchow 4, Kellan Jackson and Hayden Wambeke 2 each, Rylan Stebner and Cooley 1 apiece. Tucker Jackson led with eight rebounds.
Winland noted that the team on Saturday was without Haslem, who was attending a family event, and Jacob Bischoff and Hudson May missed the weekend with injuries.
Dubois win
The Grizzlies rebounded to stop Dubois 62-47 Saturday night as five players scored 9 points or more in the game.
“I was pleased with our balanced scoring,” Winland said. “And both Alex and Tucker had double-doubles (points and rebounds).
“This was a game where we could never really pull away until the end.”
Johnson scored 8 points and Files 5 in the first quarter as the Grizz led 18-12 after one, and they edged Dubois 13-12 in the second quarter to lead 31-24 at halftime. A 14-11 advantage in the third left Rocky up 45-35, and the Grizz outscored the Rams 17-12 in the fourth for the 15-point win.
Johnson finished with 15 points, Hedges 13, Minchow 12, Tucker Jackson 10 and Files 9. The Grizz shot 45.3 percent from the field, 61.3 percent from two-point range. The Grizz scored 25 points off Dubois turnovers.
Hedges snared 17 rebounds, Tucker Jackson 11, and Jackson led the team with five assists.
Nate Hinkle scored 18 to lead Dubois.
“Tucker and Lafe took turns on him, and every basket he made he (Hinkle) earned,” Winland noted. “They were in his face for most of them.”
The win improved the Grizzlies to 2-6 on the young season ahead of a Tuesday game against Lovell.