Grizzly frosh stop Lovell, now 4-0 in January

Continuing to play strong basketball as the new year unfolds, the Rocky Mountain freshman boys basketball squad topped the Lovell Bulldogs in Lovell Monday evening, 43-29. The Grizz are now 4-0 in January.

The Grizzlies shut Lovell out 7-0 in the first quarter and held a 16-10 lead at halftime. Rocky pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 15-12 in the third quarter and 12-7 in the fourth.

Jaxon Hayes finished with 15 points to lead the Grizz, and Evin Clendenen added 10, Cooper Winland 8, Cooper Ward and Kreegan Jones 5 apiece. Winland finished with 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the game, and Clendenen recorded seven rebounds and four blocks, Hayes five rebounds and three assists.

“We had a hard time finding the intensity in the first half, and Lovell’s pressure bothered us at times,” coach Taylor Winland said. “The boys were resilient and didn’t back down. We took a couple of gut punches from Lovell, and I am proud of the boys and how they responded.

“The fourth quarter is when we stepped up and took control of the game. It was great to see some adversity and rise to it.”

Dallin Bischoff led Lovell with 11 points, and Anthony Garcia added 6 points, Grant Hill 4, Kade Durtsche and Tyler Knowles 3 each, Aaiden Walker 2.

Next up, the Grizz will host Greybull Monday for a 6:15 p.m. tip-off, then travel to Powell Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. tap.