RMMS Grizzlies well tested heading into tournaments

Rocky Mountain’s middle school boys teams packed a lot of basketball into a short stretch last week, playing three games in four days against Shoshoni, Thermopolis and Burlington. The busy slate gave each level a mix of momentum swings, tough lessons and signs of growth as the teams moved closer to tournament play this Saturday.

Thursday, Feb. 12 vs. Burlington (home)

A game – Burlington 33, Rocky 30: Head coach McKay Baxendale noted Burlington’s improvement and a strong Rocky Mountain rally, saying, “Credit to Burlington for how much their boys have grown since our last meeting. They outworked us today. After what was perhaps our worst first half all season, the boys had a spectacular third quarter. In the end we couldn’t get it done, but it was a good wake-up call as the tournament draws nearer.”

Madden Cooley led Rocky Mountain with 12 points, followed by Dally Malson with 8, Ty Samson with 7 and Hudson Moore with 3.

B game – Burlington 36, Rocky 27: Assistant coach Colten Hodge said the team showed offensive progress despite the loss. “We worked on creating shot opportunities and looking to score, which was a good improvement in this game,” he said. “It did expose several fundamentals that still need attention, namely boxing out and denying the pass down low.”

Aiden Wallman led Rocky Mountain with 10 points, followed by Eli Wallman with 6 and Trevin Green with 5. Tripp Hopkin, Karter Miller and Maddox Ward added 2 each.

C game – Burlington 27, Rocky 24: Assistant coach Aric Hanusa said the group continues to show growth, noting, “The C team had a couple exciting games this last week. We played well against Burlington, and I think overall we’ve gotten better throughout the year. Our defense seems to have improved, and we handled ball pressure pretty effectively.”

Bryden Beall led Rocky Mountain with 10 points, followed by Gus Loyning with 8 and Kaiden Adey with 4. Canyon Weinand added 2.

Friday, Feb. 13 vs. Thermopolis (home)

A game – Thermopolis 58, Rocky 15: Coach Baxendale said Thermopolis set the tone on both ends. “Thermopolis executed really well today on both sides of the ball,” he said. “They made it really difficult for our boys to score. The silver lining is that the boys have seen their two main rivals right before the tournament, so they know the level of intensity they need in practice this week.”

Cooley led Rocky Mountain with 13 points, while Malson added 2.

B game – Thermopolis 47, Rocky 13: Assistant coach Hanusa said the team showed growth despite the loss. “On Friday, we got a chance to play Thermopolis again, and we executed really well,” he said. “It’s exciting to see team basketball and the kids working better together. Our roster has been pretty fluid throughout the year, and it’s really neat to see different players come in and contribute.”

 Aiden Wallman led Rocky Mountain with 8 points, while Kaden Baker and Miller added 2 each and Will Simmons had 1.

C game – Rocky 34, Thermopolis 23: Assistant coach Hanusa said the team responded well after a tough start. “Thermopolis is a tough team in our conference, and they challenged us in every way,” he said. “We focused on improving deficiencies from the previous game (Burlington), which was a success in the second half despite the loss.”

Beall led the Grizz with 12 points, followed by Loyning with 11 and Ryker James with 7. Weinand and Aden Spencer added 2 each.

Saturday, Feb. 14 vs. Shoshoni (home)

A game – Rocky 53, Shoshoni 7: Head coach Baxendale said the win came at the right time after a tough stretch, noting, “The boys had a rough couple of games the past two days, so their morale definitely needed the boost today. It was a great opportunity for bench players to get A level minutes and work on presses and offensive concepts we don’t run in B games.”

Rocky Mountain was led by Cooley with 15 points, followed by Moore and Malson with 8 each, Samson with 7, Wyatt Blank and Tyler Crosby with 4 each, Hopkin with 3 and Baker and Xavier Hetland with 2 each.

B game – Rocky 30, Shoshoni 11: Assistant coach Hodge said the team made a strong adjustment after halftime. “The first half was a bit shaky, as we were putting up far too many low-percentage shots,” he said. “At halftime we focused on dribble driving and getting the ball to the posts, and that really improved our scoring and overall team cooperation.”

Hopkin led the scoring with 10 points, followed by Aiden Wallman with 6, Miller and Simmons with 4 each and Eli Wallman, James Demers and Ward with 2 apiece.

After games at Greybull Monday afternoon, all three teams will wrap up their seasons with Big Horn Conference tournament play on Saturday. The A team will travel to Greybull for competition starting at 9 a.m., while the B and C teams will head to Thermopolis for a jamboree tournament, beginning at 9 a.m.