Boys hit break with 5-3 mark

With a weekend split at the Foothills Classic, the Greybull Buffs have matched their second-fastest start of the past decade, tying the 2017-18 team that was also 5-3 at the break.  Only the 2022-23 team fared better in December — and with a 4-2 mark, it was just by percentage points.

The Buffs defeated Tongue River 55-24 and Moorcroft 51-27 Friday in Dayton before stumbling in their final two games of 2025, losing to No. 5-ranked Big Horn 58-43 and to Nov. 4-ranked Wright 58-44. 

“We probably ended up right where we should have been, at 2-2,” Coach Logan Burningham said. “We beat the teams we should have beat. We needed to play better to beat the other two and I’m disappointed that we didn’t.

“But coming away from it, I still feel we can beat Wright and Big Horn; we just didn’t play 32 minutes of good basketball, which is what it’s going to take.” 

With the heavy load of weekend games and early deadlines, no statistics were available at press time.

The Buffs opened the weekend with a rematch against Tongue River. They’d beaten the Eagles 58-34 six days earlier at the Herder Classic in Glenrock, but found them to be far more formidable on their home floor and trailed by two at the half.

“We were taking too many quick possessions,” Burningham said of the early struggles. “In the second half, we got back to what we wanted to do, moving the ball and getting a lot of good looks. It helped us get the lead back and eventually push it to double digits.”

The second game followed the same script, as the Buffs again started slowly and didn’t begin to experience success until they started executing on offense, which included a greater emphasis on crashing the boards.

The Buffs weren’t as fortunate against Big Horn. They lost by 15, but were down just four at the half.

“Going against Big Horn, they’re always big and physical — that’s their bread and butter ... and they try to wear you down,” Burningham said. On top of that, they’re well coached, capable of running “the best zone beaters you can think of.

“We got down big early, came back to make it close at half, but then they made another run to stretch it to double digits. We showed we could play with them, but at times, we struggle to keep consistent effort and energy for full games.”

Burningham said he was more frustrated by his team’s 14-point loss to Wright. At the Coal Miner’s Classic, just three points separated the team.  

“We played good in stretches, but not for the full 32 minutes,” he said. “Second game in a row where our energy was lacking a little bit; we need to get in better shape.”

“When you look at who is in the top five,” Burningham said, “only two are from our side of the state (Wyoming Indian and Thermopolis), three are from the other and we’ve seen two of them (with Pine Bluffs being the exception). I have to believe we’ll be in the mix to make it to state, but it’s going to depend on which team improves the most as the season goes on.”