Sputtering offense puts Buffs in hole

By: 
Nathan Oster

Boys to go for first conference win Friday vs. Shoshoni

The shots were not dropping last weekend for the Greybull Buffs, who produced double-digit scoring just once in eight quarters of play against Class 2A Northwest Conference rivals Rocky Mountain and Thermopolis.

The 48-27 loss to the Grizzlies Friday evening at Buff Gym and the 60-31 loss Saturday afternoon in the home lair of the Bobcats left the Buffs at 5-9 overall and with a significant hill to climb as they begin to build up to the postseason.

“We knew going into the season we would have moments in games and quarters when we would have a hard time scoring,” said Coach Logan Burningham. “We’re looking for another player or two to step up and get some buckets for us.”

Each contest followed the same script, as the Buffs started slowly, trailed by double digits after one and were unable to shoot their way back in, going 4-of-19 from 3-point land against Rocky and 2-of-13 from deep against Thermop.

Carter Jacobs was a bright spot against Rocky, scoring nine points, while Caden Hunt’s 14 paced the Buffs in Thermopolis.  

Burningham said he’d hoped to work Cord Edeler and Larry Longshore into the varsity rotation, but neither was available.  “That hurt us some,” he said. “But the bigger problem is, we just aren’t making mid-game adjustments.  If we change something on the fly, the team struggles to make those.  That’s probably more on us as coaches, to make sure they’re fully prepared going in, but it’s really something we’re struggling with right now.”

Burningham also credited his opponents, pointing out that Thermop is the top-ranked team in 2A. “They’re 15 to 16 deep and might have the most talent in the state,” he said. “The question is, can they put it all together to win a championship?”

Burningham saw some positives in the second half against Thermop, when his team was only outscored by nine points. “We executed our stuff way better, but that cannot happen for only 16 minutes,” he said. “It has to happen over 32 minutes.

He added that Jacobs “continues to show us things,” adding, “He’s so athletic, he makes plays most can’t make. He’s been the most consistent for us, scoring about 10 points per game no matter what, but there’s still room for growth.”

“It was a tough two-game stretch for us,” he said. “We were playing two top five teams — Rocky Mountain will probably be one by the end of the season.”

This week

The Buffs took a 5-9 record into a non-conference matchup with Burlington Tuesday. 

This weekend brings matchups with Shoshoni Friday night at Buff Gym, with JV at 4 and varsity at 7 p.m., and Saturday afternoon at Tongue River.  The Shoshoni game will complete Greybull’s first pass through the Class 2A Northwest Conference.

“Shoshoni’s 0-2 in the conference, but they played both teams we played tighter than we did,” said Burningham. “We’re going to have to fight harder than we have all season to get a conference win.  Shoshoni doesn’t have as much talent (as Thermop and Rocky). They have some talented, quick guards, but not the same size and strength of the other two.

“It would be huge for us to pick up our first conference win.”

Tongue River is down this year after several seasons of contending for the 2A title.

The Buffs beat the Eagles 48-42 at the Foothills Classic in December. “That one really could have gone either way,” said Burningham. “It’s going to be about how much we want to win. The kids have the ability, but going to TR, playing in home game for them, they’re really going to have to play well and execute.”

 

Rocky Mt. 18 10 13 7 — 48

Greybull   6   7   6 8 — 27

GREYBULL — Caden Hunt 2-15 0-0 6, Lucas Bolzer 0-2 0-0 0, Cole Wisehart 0-2 0-0 0, Isaac Vigil 2-9 1-2 6, Rex Cooper 0-0 1-2 1, Yandel Hernandez 1-3 1-2 3, Clayton Didrickson 1-1 0-0 2, Carter Jacobs 4-7 0-0 9.  Totals 10-of-40 3-of-6 27.

3-POINT GOALS — Hunt 2, Vigil, Jacobs.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 22 (Bolzer 5).  STEALS — Greybull 10 (Hunt, Vigil, Cooper, Hernandez 2).  ASSISTS — Greybull 6 (Hunt 3).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 20.

 

Thermop 18 13 16 13 — 60

Greybull   7   4   9 11 — 31

GREYBULL — Hunt 6-14 0-0 14, Bolzer 1-5 1-2 3, Wisehart 0-2 0-0 0, Vigil 0-1 0-0 0, Hernandez 2-5 0-0  4, Didrickson 0-1 0-0 0, Jacobs 5-10 0-2 10, Cash Hoflund 0-1 0-0  0.  Totals 14-of-39 1-of-4 31.

3-POINT GOALS — Hunt 2.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 18 (Bolzer, Cooper, Hernandez, Jacobs 3).  STEALS — Greybull 9 (Hernandez, Jacobs 3).  ASSISTS — Greybull 8 (Hunt 3).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 22.

 

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