Back-to-back fantastic finishes Buffs use late 10-0 run to stun conference foe Shoshoni, last-second shot to win at Tongue River

The Greybull Buffs emerged from a slump with a badly needed weekend sweep, doing it the dramatic way with a 10-0 run to close out their 56-55 win over Shoshoni Friday at Buff Gym and with a Caden Hunt buzzer beater in overtime to beat Tongue River 42-40 Saturday in Dayton.

“It was one heck of a weekend — it couldn’t have gone any better,” said Coach Logan Burningham, whose team ran its record to 7-10 overall, 1-2 in the Class 1A Northwest Conference. “Going in, we figured if we could get one win, it would be good, and if we could get two, we’d have overachieved.”

“We were especially excited to come with the conference win (against Shoshoni) because it puts us back in position to steal a three seed and hopefully avoid Wyoming Indian in the first round (of the Class 2A West Regional).”

Burningham believes the groundwork for the weekend split was laid earlier in the week in Burlington. The Buffs started slowly and lost to 1A Huskies, 46-37.  “Even though we didn’t win, a lot of positive stuff happened,” Burningham. “We must have had 12 to 15 shots from 5 feet and in that didn’t go; if we make just a few more of those, it’s a different ballgame.

“Coming away, I think it helped us believe we could play with some of the higher quality teams.”

The Buffs had struggled mightily in the two games before that, losing to Rocky Mountain 48-27 and Thermopolis 60-31.

Burningham said he told his team the Shoshoni game was “do or die time,” that if they wanted the No. 3 seed, they’d have to beat Shoshoni at least once and that “it would be a lot tougher to get that one in Shoshoni.”

The Wranglers were the better team through three quarters. They led by as many as 14 at one point before the Buffs closed the gap to 10, 51-41, heading into the final eight minutes.

“I told the kids at the time, ‘Let’s keep it going, let’s give it everything we’ve got,” said Burningham.

His team responded.  A 3-point play by Caden Hunt got it started, followed soon after by an Isaac Vigil bucket on a slashing drive to the hoop.  Shoshoni answered with the next two buckets to stretch its lead back to nine, at 55-46. But those were the last points the Wranglers score.

The Buffs produced the next 10, with junior Carter Jacobs accounting for the final eight.  Six came via layups and the last two on a pair of clutch free-throws with about 5 seconds left to give Greybull it’s first lead of the game.

“Coach Armel told him at the half, ‘You’ve gotta win us this game ... we believe in you to get the job done.’  After it was over, Carter went up to him and said, ‘Coach, you told me I had to go win the game and that’s what I did.’ It was cool for him to feed off Armel’s positive motivation.

“Carter’s been solid for us all year. He’s leading us at about 12 points per game. It’s his energy and ability to get steals that’s creating problems for other teams. We’ve got him playing up on the press, trying to put him in the same position we put Carlos (Rodriguez) last year, where can get deflections and get steals. He’s doing a great job of it.”

Burningham added “shoutouts” to Caden Hunt and Rex Cooper, saying they were every bit as valuable as Jacobs.  Hunt had one of his best shooting nights of the year, hitting 7-of-11 from the field, including four 3-pointers, to finish with 19.

Cooper added 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

“They played their best games of the season when we needed them most,” Burningham said.

Shoshoni cooperated with the Buffs down the stretch, turning the ball over eight times in the fourth and going 0-of-4 from the line in the final two minutes.

The next day in Dayton, Burningham said the Buffs came out “a little flat,” but “kept battling” until the end.  

“I heard there were something like 15 lead changes,” Burningham said. But once again, his team pulled it out.  Yandel Hernandez sent the game to overtime, converting a put-back of an errant shot and a free-throw to complete the three-point play.  Caden Hunt won it in the extra frame, scoring a bucket with just two seconds to play.

Jacobs again led the way with 17, followed by Hunt with 11 and Hernandez with nine.  Cooper snagged a team-high 10 boards.

It was Greybull’s second win of the season over the Eagles; the margin was 48-42 back in December.

“The weekend gave us a ton of confidence,” said Burningham. “The boys know now that if they play their best basketball, they can stay with teams in our conference.  Shoshoni played Rocky Mountain tight.  We can play with those guys, but until you win one of those games, it’s hard to believe you can do it.

“I’ll say this: If we play with passion, energy and intensity, we’re a different team.  We can’t play scared or intimidated.”

The Buffs have only one game this week. They’ll renew their rivalry with Riverside, tipping off at 7 p.m. tonight in Basin. “We can’t overlook them,” said Burningham. “Riverside is always wanting to beat Greybull — and if they can beat us, it makes it a positive season for them.

“They’re playing their best basketball of the season right now — they scored 91 against St. Stephens, 75 against Dubois. We need to treat it as a rivalry game and come out with a lot of intensity.”

Burlington 11 12   9 14 — 46

Greybull   8   6 12 11 — 37

GREYBULL — Caden Hunt 3-13 0-5 6, Lucas Bolzer 2-6 0-0 4, Cole Wisehart 2-6 0-0 4, Isaac Vigil 1-7 0-0 2, Rex Cooper 2-2 1-2 5, Yandel Hernandez 1-7 0-0 2, Carter Jacobs 5-13 2-4 12.  Totals 16-of-55 (FGs) 3-of-11 (FTs) 37.

3-POINT GOALS — Wisehart 2.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 31 (Vigil, Jacobs 6).  STEALS — Greybull 11 (Hunt 5).  ASSISTS — Greybull 7 (Hunt, Wisehart, Vigil 2).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 14.

Shoshoni 13 17 21   4 — 55

Greybull 13 12 16 15 — 56

GREYBULL — Larry Longshore 0-1 0-0 0, Hunt 7-11 1-1 19, Bolzer 0-2 0-0 0, Wisehart 0-0 0-2 0, Vigil 3-7 0-0 6, Cooper 5-7 0-2 10, Hernandez 0-4 1-4 1, Jacobs 8-15 3-4 20.  Totals 23-of-47 (FGs) 5-of-13 (FTs) 56.

3-POINT GOALS — Hunt 4, Jacobs.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 18 (Jacobs 9).  STEALS — Greybull 18 (Bolzer, Jacobs 4).  ASSISTS — Greybull 8 (Hunt, Wisehart, Hernandez 2).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 26.

Tongue R. 8   7 11 8 6 — 40

Greybull     6 10 8 10 8 — 42

GREYBULL — Longshore 1-7 2-3 4, Hunt 4-13 0-0 11, Bolzer 0-4 0-0 0, Wisehart 0-4 0-0 0, Vigil 0-3 0-0 0, Cooper 0-2 1-2 1, Hernandez 3-12 3-3 9, Jacobs 6-16 4-6 17.  Totals 14-of-61 (FGs) 10-of-14 (FTs) 42.

3-POINT GOALS — Hunt 3, Jacobs.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 30 (Cooper 10).  STEALS — Greybull 15 (Hunt 6).  ASSISTS — Greybull 12 (Hunt 4).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 15.