Third-quarter drought proves costly at WIHS

Buffs trailed top 2A title contender by one at half

A week after struggling to get past Wind River, the Greybull Buffs made Wyoming Indian sweat for two quarters before fading late in a 56-37 non-conference loss Saturday in Ethete.

Perennial 2A powers, the Chiefs are expected to be in the mix for this year’s state title, with Wright and Thermopolis joining them on most observers’ short list of contenders.

But the Buffs rose to the challenge. After one, they trailed by just six, at 16-10. By half, the Buffs had cut it to one, 25-24, and had it not been for a late 3-pointer, they would have led going into the intermission. 

Coach Logan Burningham said he loved his team’s competitiveness.

“All the kids saw the score of the game between Wyoming Indian and Wind River (102-16) and were like, ‘Oh boy, do we have a chance?’ I told them if we play like we can, we’ll stay in it, but if we fold, play scared and timid, we’ll up in the same position as Wind River.”

The Chiefs don’t appear to be as strong as some of Wyoming Indian’s recent teams, Burningham said, but they still feature quick, athletic guards and have excellent depth with an eight- to 10-player rotation.

“Our defensive pressure and intensity were where they needed to be,” Burningham said of his team’s strong start. “After coming out so flat against Wind River (on Jan. 4), we were flying around on the floor, pressuring the ball. They were have a hard time beating our zone.”

The second half wasn’t as kind to the Buffs, who were outscored 14-2 in the third and 17-11 in the fourth. 

“We played so well in the first half, they dropped out of their man-to-man defense and went to a 1-3-1 zone,” said Burningham. “They packed it in and we really struggled to get the ball to places we could score.”

The Chiefs also ratcheted up their defensive pressure, forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets.

Greybull finished with 26 miscues and shot 30% from the field.

Yandel Hernandez was a bright spot, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds. Burningham called it the junior’s “best game of the season” and credited him with “providing the spark we didn’t have” in the Wind River game.

The Buffs dropped to 4-5 with the loss, but came away feeling good about themselves. “Everyone I talked to — the kids, the fans, the other coaches — were pretty positive about how we played,” said Burningham.  “Sure, we ended up losing, which isn’t a fun thing, but at the same time, we saw improvement and growth. Ultimately, that’s the goal of a non-conference game in early January.” 

This week

The Buffs will be among the teams competing in this weekend’s Big Horn Basin Classic.  Boys games will be played in Powell and Cowley, girls games in Worland and Thermopolis.

Greybull is scheduled to play two pool play games in Cowley Friday. First up is Lovell at noon, followed by a rematch against Wyoming Indian at 3 p.m. The Cowley site will also host pool play games involving Riverside, Worland and the Grizzlies while Cody, Thermop, Burlington, Wind River, Glenrock and Powell play in Powell.

The Classic concludes Saturday with matchups based upon the teams’ pool play records. The championships game tips off at 4:30 p.m. in Powell.

“It’s going to be a tough battle, but again, in the big scheme of things, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re improving,” said Burningham. “It’s about being our best selves by the time we get to the end of February and regionals.

“Win or lose, we won’t end up going to state based on games played in the Big Horn Basin Classic, so we’re going to have a positive mindset and hope it will carry over into the start of conference play next week.

WIHS 16   9 14 17 — 56

Greybull 10 14   2 11 — 37

GREYBULL — Caden Hunt 2-9 0-0 4, William Harlow 0-1 2-2 2, Anthony Chacon 1-2 0-0 3, Lucas Bolzer 1-4 0-0 2, Cole Wisehart 0-2 0-0 0, Isaac Vigil 0-5 0-0 0, Cord Edeler 0-1 0-0 0, Rex Cooper 0-1 0-2 0, Yandel Hernandez 6-13 4-6 16, Carter Jacobs 5-12 0-1 10. Totals 15-of-50 (FGs) 6-of-11 (FTs) 37.

3-POINT GOALS — Chacon.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 34 (Vigil 9).  STEALS — Greybull 11 (Jacobs 4).  ASSISTS — Greybull 13 (Hunt 6).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 26.