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January 14, 2010 I The Lovell Chronicle 111
Grizzlies improve at Burlington, hammer Shoshoni at home
BY DAVID PECK
Better...but still not
there. That's the assess-
ment of Rocky Mountain
Coach Michael Simmons as
he evaluates his team's per-
formance against Burling-
ton and Shoshoni over the
weekend.
The Grizz played bet-
ter defense against the top-
ranked 1A Huskies Friday
than they did in a loss at
home on Dec. 19, but they
fell to the Huskies 53-35.
Saturday, the Grizz pound-
ed the outmanned Shoshoni
Wranglers 62-17 in Byron.
Simmons pointed out
that the Huskies had star
Eric McNiven back for Fri-
day's game in Burlington,
whereas the senior missed
the game in December. And
yet the Huskies scored 53
points, down from the 64 in
December.
"We worked on lots
of things over Christmas
- man-to-man (defense)
stuff and a little bit of ev-
erything," Simmons said,
"We're getting into a rota-
tion where we can match
up with just about anyone.
With Eric back, they got a
little deeper with their six-
plus athletic players. Tim
(Davidson), Sam (Davidson)
and Eric are around 6-2 and
can run and jump and have
good hands. They create
match-up problems for us.
'`we're continuing to
work on our man defense. I
felt, for the most part, that
we did a better job. They
scored more before Christ-
mas than they did Friday at
their place with Eric (in the
lineup)."
Offensively, Simmons
said, the Grizzlies got better
looks against the Huskies
Saturday than the previous
game, but they couldn't find
the range.
"Three for 15 from be-
yond the arc, 11 for 41 from
two and four for 13 at the
free-throw line isn't going to
win you any games, at least
not very many," he said.
"We had good looks. Austin
Leonhardt is not going to
go 0 for six from beyond the
arc very often."
Turnovers were also
a problem, he said, as the
Grizz had 28, Burlington
17. Overall, he said, the
game was one to growon.
"There were som good
things," he said. "I told the
kids afterwards that if we
can make strides in the
right direction, no mat-
ter how small, (the team is
making progress).
"We did a pretty good
job defensively. As coaches
we were proud. We felt we
continued to work hard as
a team and kept fighting all
the way to the end. We were
right there until that run in
the second quarter."
Rocky never led, but the
Grizz trailed only 7-5 mid-
way through the first quar-
ter, 11-9 early in the second
period and 15-11 midway
through the second before
the Huskies put together a
14-2 run that helped them
lead 29-15 at halftime. A
15-1 Burlington surge to
start the second half put
the Grizz behind by 28, 44-
16, and while the Grizz out-
scored the Huskies 19-9 the
rest of the way, they could
never fully recover.
The Grizz had no scor-
ers in double figures. Bran-
don Bulanek scored 7
points, Derik Romero 6 and
Luke Leonhardt and KJ
Blackburn 5 each. Black-
burn pulled down seven
rebounds, Brandon Foster
five.
The box score:
ROCKY (35)
Thomas Troutman 0 1-2 1, Brandon Bu-
lanek 3 0-0 7, Logan Friedly 0 0-0 0, Luke
Leonhardt 2 1-1 5, Tyrell Humphreys 1 0-0
2, Austin Leonhardt 1 0-0 2, Dedk Romero 2
0-0 6, KJ Blackburn 2 1-6 5, Brandon Foster
1 1-4 3, Martin Consuelos 1 0-0 2, Jeff
Sanders 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 4-13 35.
BURLINGTON (53)
Tim Davidson 3 t-2 7, Matt Christiansen 0
0-1 0, Spencer Jones 0 2-2 2, Sam David-
son 4 2-5 10, Eric McNiven 7 1-1 15, Anson
George 1 0-2 2, Shawn Christiansen 4 0-0
8, Porter Jones 1 2-3 4, Ammon Howard 2
0-0 5. Totals 22 8-16 53.
RockyMtn. 5 10 3 17-35
Budington 11 18 17 7-53
Three-point field goals - Romero 2, Bulanek
1; Howard 1. Fouled out-Foster. Total fouls
- Rocky 14, Burlington 12.
SATURDAY BLOWOUT
It's hard to evalu-
ate Rocky's performance
against the outgunned Sho-
shoni Wranglers Saturday,
but Simmons said his squad
continued to show improve-
ment. Shoshoni had only
seven players for the game
- total. All seven played in
both the junior varsity game
(two quarters) and the var-
sity contest.
Rocky outscored the
Wranglers 13-4 in the first
quarter, 20-3 in the second,
11-2 in the third and 18-8 in
the fourth. All 11 members
of the Grizzly varsity squad
played and scored.
"We knew they were
down, probably more than
they've ever been," Simmons
said. "I give their coaching
staff credit for encouraging
them to keep playing.
"We're starting to get
more balanced (in scor-
ing). Since we have no obvi-
ous five (starting players),
we may need to go deeper
and deeper. They're pretty
scrappy, to the point where
it's tough to get into a set
offense. They're all over the
place.
"we improved again. It
was small, but we're mov-
ing in the right direction."
Blackburn and Foster
led the Grizz with 12 points
each. Austin Leonhardt
added 8, Bulanek and Luke
Leonhardt 6 apiece. Foster
had seven rebounds, Black-
burn and Bulanek five
each. Foster led the team
with four steals and three
assists,
The box score:
SHOSHONI (17)
Wright 0 0-0 0, Woodward 0 0-0 0, Watson
0 0-0 0, Logois 0 0-0 0, Steffan 1 1-2 3,
Linn 3 2-2 8, Linnon 2 2-4 6. Totals 6 5-8
17.
ROCKY (62)
Thomas Troutman 1 0-0 2, Brandon Bu-
lanek 3 0-O 6, Logan Friedly 2 0-0 4, Luke
Leonhardt 2 0-0 6, Tyrell Humphreys I 0-0
2, Austin Leonhardt 3 0-0 8, Defik Romero
2 0-0 5, KJ Blackburn 5 2-2 10, Brandon
Foster 4 4-4 12, Martin Consue!os 1 0-0 2,
Jeff Sanders 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 7-8 62.
Shoshoni 4 3 2 8-17
RockyMt. 13 20 11 18-62
Three-point field goals - L. Leonhardt 2, A.
Leonhardt 2, Romero 1. Fouled out - none.
Total fouls - Shoshoni 9, Rocky 9.
ROAD GAMES
The Grizzlies have a
pair of tough road games
this week, traveling to
Powell tonight (Thursday)
to meet the Class 3A Pan-
thers, then making the long
trip to Ethete to take on the
top-ranked 2A Wyoming
Indian High School Chiefs.
Tip-off times are 4 (JV) and
7:30 Thursday and noon
and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Simmons said the Grizz
have played well against
the Chiefs over the years
but Saturday's game will
provide a huge test for his
team's young guards.
"There will be a lot of
things we can take from
that game to learn and help
us grow," he said.
DAVID PECK
Rocky Mountain senior Austin Leonhardt fires up
a three-pointer in Burlington Friday night as Eric
McNiven goes for a block. The Grizzlies travel to
Powell (Thursday) and Wyoming Indian (Saturday)
this weekend.
BRAD DEWRVX
Lovell wrestler Ethan Croft fights to avoid a pin against JR Vezain of Rocky
Mountain. Croft avoided the pin, but lost 0-16 to Vezain at 145 pounds during
the tri-dual in Lovell Friday afternoon..
Rocky grapplers fall to
Lovell, Greybull
BY DAVID PECK
The Rocky Mountain
wrestling team won a lot of
individual matches during
the Lovell-Greybull-Rocky
tri-dual Friday afternoon in
Lovell, but they came out on
the short end of two team
scores thanks to giving up
points at six open weight
classes.
Against Lovell, the
Grizz won four of the eight
matches but gave up for-
feits at 103, 112, 119, 125,
189, 215 and heavyweight,
leading to a 54-21 loss. The
Grizz picked up wins from
Jake Jones at 119 pounds,
Ben Cook at 130, JR Vezain
at 145 and Kaleb Hoyt at
160.
Jake Jones pinned Na-
than Grant in the first peri-
od at 119 pounds and Cook
stuck Adam Beck in the sec-
ond period at 130.
After Benjamin Man-
cuso fell to Jacob Beck on
a second-period :pin at 135
and Ty Wambeke lost to
Ben Cuch on a first-period
pin at 140, Vezain crushed
Ethan Croft 16-0 at 145.
Guy Jones fell to Dino
Collins 3-1 at 152, and Hoyt
defeated Ryan Croft 13-5 at
160. At 171, Hayden Ott fell
to Mark Grant 15-11.
Against Greybull-River-
side, the Grizzlies picked up
only two wins in a 64-10 loss.
Jake Jones pinned Stephen
Kerr in the second period
at 119 pounds, and Vezain
beat Ben Anson 12-2 at 145.
Guy Jones battled Jesse
Chesnut at 152 but lost the
match 1-0, and Hoyt was
tied 4-4 with tough Chayce
Goton at 160 but got cramps
in both legs and could not
finish the match.
All other Grizzly grap-
plers lost via the pin: Jake
Jones to Stephen Kerr at
119 pounds, Cook to Na-
than Hetzel at 130, Man-
cuso to Luke Zeller at 135,
Wambeke to Payton Vigil at
140 and Ott to Clay Cundall
at 171.
The Grizz also gave up
five forfeits.
"Obviously, with our
lack of kids, I look forward
to tournaments rather than
duals," coach Josh Collins
said.
The Grizzlies will trav-
el to Pavillion Friday and '
Saturday for the Don Run-
ner Invitational, hosted by
Wind River High School.
Wrestling begins at 2 p.m.
Friday and 8:30 a.m. Satur-
day. Mostly 2A teams will
compete at the meet.
Next up the Don Runner invitational hosted by Wind River
High School Friday and Saturday
Rocky JV boys
split a pair
BY DAVID PECK
The Rocky Mountain
junior varsity boys bas-
ketball squad split a pair
of games to open the New
Year, falling by five at Bur-
lington Friday evening, 39-
34, but topping the Sho-
shoni Wranglers 36-14 in
a two-quarter game Satur-
day in Byron.
Friday, the Grizzlies
dug themselves a big hole
early and trailed 12-1 af-
ter the first quarter. They
trailed by 12 at halftime,
22-10, then outscored the
Huskies 13-3 in the third
to chop the lead to two
points, 25-23, heading into
the fourth. Burlington won
by five after a 14-11 fourth-
quarter advantage.
Bryce Ward led the
Grizz with 11 points. Logan
Fried]y, Derik Romero and
Brandon Altman added 6
each, Caleb Estes 5.
Saturday, a short-
handed Shoshoni team had
a combined total of seven
players for both the JV and
varsity games, so only two
JV quarters were played.
Rocky outscored the Wran-
glers 23-9 in the first quar-
ter and 13-5 in the second.
Friedly and Michael
Bernhisel scored 8 points
each, Tyrell Humphreys 6,
Estes 5, Romero, Altman,
Ward and Shane Wocicki 2
each and Brady Winland 1.
FROSH FALL
The Rocky Mountain
freshman boys opened the
post-holiday portion of
their schedule with a 57-
38 loss to the Powell Pan-
thers in Powell last Tues-
day, Jan. 5.
Powell jumped out to
a 22-8 lead after the first
quarter and rolled from
there, outscoring the Grizz
15-12 in the second quar-
ter and 15-4 in the third to
lead 52-24 after three. The
Grizz came back to take the
fourth, 14-5.
Michael Bernhisel
and Bryce Ward scored
13 points each to lead the
Grizz. Brady Winland add-
ed 6 points, Shane Wocicki,
Caleb Estes and Brandon
Altman 2 apiece.
The Grizzly freshmen
are scheduled to travel to
Burlington next Tuesday,
Jan. 19, for a 5:30 p.m.
contest, then host Grey-
bull Thursday, Jan. 21, at
7 p.m.
Basketball Standings
leas
Grevbull
IIockv Mtn.
Riverside
Lovell
Shoshoni
BOYS 2 NORTHWE T
Conf. Overall
W L W L
2 0 !1 1
1 0 § 4
0 0 0 7
0 1 4 3
0 2 0 !1
RESULTS
Friday, January 8
Burlington 53, Rocky Mtn. 35
Greybul161, Shoshoni 7
Saturday, January 9
Rocky Mtn. 62, Shoshoni 17
Lovell 66, Tongue River 60
Burlington 44, Greybul141
Wyo. Indian 106, Riverside 30
SCHEDULE
Thursday, January 14
Rocky at Powell, 4, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 16
Greybull at Riverside, 4, 7 p.m.
Shoshoni at Lovell, 4:45, 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 16
Rocky atWy. Indian, 12, 3 p.m.
Riverside at T. River, 2:30, 4
Greybull at Lovetl, 2, 5 p.m.
Thursday, January 21
Cody at Loveli, 4:45, 7 p.m.
GIRLS 2,
ream
Lovell
Inckv Mtn.
$hositoni
Riverside
Grevbull
NORTHWE: ;T
Conf. Overall
W L W L
I 0 7 3
I 0 § 3
1 t 8 3
0 0 2 §
0 2 5 6
RESULTS
Thursday, January 7
Gillette JVs 56, Riverside 42
Friday, January 8
Burlington 54, Rocky Mtn. 37
Shoshoni 31, Greybul127
Saturday, January 9
Rocky Mtn. 62, Shoshoni 36
Lovell 59, Tongue River 55
Burlington 44, Greybull 26
Wyo. Indian 65, Riverside 33
SCHEDULE
Thursday, January 14
Rocky at Powell, 4, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, January 15
Shoshoni at Lovell, 4, 5:30 p.m.
Greybull at Riverside, 4, 5:30
Saturday, January 16
Rocky at Wyo. Indian, 12, 1:30
Greybull at Lovell, 2, 3:30 p.m. -
T. River at Riverside, 1,2:30
Thursday, January 21
Cody at Lovell, 4, 5:30 p.m.
Sports
Calendar
Thursday, January 14
MS girls basketball- Cloud Peak
at Rocky, 4 p.m.
HS girls basketball - Rocky at
Powell, 4, 5:45 p.m.
HS boys basketball - Rocky at
Powell, 4, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 15
HS wrestling - Lovell, Rocky at
WR Tourney, Pavillion, 2
p.m.
HS indoor track - Lovell at Shine
Invite, Laramie, 4 p.m.
HS girls basketball- Shoshoni
at Lovell, 4, 5:30 p.m.
HS boys basketball - Shoshoni
at Lovell, 4:45, 7 p.m.
Jr. college women's bb - EWC at
NWC, 5:30 p.m.
Jr. college men's bb - EWC at
NWC, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 16
HS wrestling - Lovell, Rocky at
WR Tourney, Pavillion, 9
a.m.
MS girls basketball- Powell,
Thermop at Lovell, 9 a.m.
7th grade at middle school,
8th grade at high school
MS wrestling - Lovell, Rocky at
Greybull, 9:30 a.m.
HS girls basketball- Rocky at
WIHS, 12, 1:30 p.m.
HS boys basketball - Rocky at
WIHS, 12, 3 p.m.
Men's college bb - New Mexi-
co at Wyoming, 1:30 (The
Mtn.)
Women's college bb - Wyoming
at New Mexico, 2 p.m.
HS girls basketball - Greybull at
Lovell, 2, 3:30 p.m.
HS boys basketball - Greybull at
Lovell, 2, 5 p.m.
Jr. college men's bb- LCCC at
NWC, 5 p.m.
Monday, January 18
Freshman girls basketball-
Lovell at Powell, 5 p.m.
Freshman boys basketball-
Lovell at Powell, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 19
MS girls basketball - Wodand
7th at Lovell, 4:15 p.m.
MS girls basketball- Lovell 8th
at Worland, 4:15 p.m.
Freshman boys basketball-
Rocky at Burlington, 5:30
p.m.
Women's college bb - BYU at
Wyoming, 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Jr. college women's bb - Sheri-
dan College at NWC, 5:30
p.m.
Jr. college men's bb - Sheridan
College at NWC, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 20
Men's college bb - Wyoming at
BYU, 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Thursday, January 21
MS girls basketball - Burlington
at Rocky, 4 p.m.
Freshman boys basketeball-
Greybull at Rocky, 7 p.m.
HS girls basketball - Cody at
Lovell, 4, 5:30 p.m.
HS boys basketball - Cody at
Lovell, 4:45, 7 p.m.
