Tough stretch continues as Buffs see four ranked teams at Foothills Classic

When the time comes, the Greybull Buffs will be ready to flip the calendar to January and the start of conference play.
For the second straight weekend, the boys encountered top-flight competition, this time at the Foothills Classic in Dayton where they went 0-4 against Tongue River, Wright, Wyoming Indian and Big Piney.All four foes were ranked in last week’s Class 2A poll.
“I told the guys going in that it would be a tough weekend, but that it was about us making sure we don’t fold or quit, and they responded,” said Coach Logan Burningham. “I was way happier with the results this weekend than I was after the opening weekend. We played harder and executed better and I believe with a few minor changes, we can turn into a solid team.”
The most encouraging part, Burningham said, was that the Buffs played their best basketball against teams from the 2A West, losing to Big Piney 48-44 Friday and to Wyoming Indian 57-41 on Saturday while struggling against 2A East powers Tongue River, losing 53-24 Friday, and Wright, 61-38 Saturday.
“Wyoming Indian looks like the top team in our region and Big Piney, probably the second or third best team, and we competed well with both of them,” said Burningham.
The Big Piney game was tight throughout, with neither team up more than five at any quarter stop.  The Buffs had a shot to tie in the final seconds but couldn’t convert a long three.  
Carlos Rodriguez led the way with 24 points, 14 boards and seven steals.
The Wyoming Indian game offered a glimpse of what the Buffs could be by season’s end.  Facing the top-ranked team in the state, the Buffs had the Chiefs reeling early and led by four after one and by one at the break.
Burningham credited his team’s defense. “When we’re active and we’ve got our hands up, we look pretty good,” he said.  “Our kids were really flying around and it showed in the results.”
It turned out to be Greybull’s best offensive half of the weekend, by a large margin.  In the second half against the Chiefs, they were outscored 29-12.  And in the Tongue River and Wright games, they were beaten by 29 and 23, respectively.
Burningham said he’s emphasizing the need to slow down on that end, with the goal being to “run good offensive possessions where we take 20-30 seconds off the clock and make our opponent defend multiple ball reversals.  If we can do that, things will open up.”
Rodriguez accounted for most of Greybull’s offense in Dayton, but Burningham said he was encouraged by the play of Isaac Vigil, saying the junior “improved a ton from the first weekend to the second weekend. He started using his left hand, rebounded well and got some shots to go.  If he can keep that up, average five to seven points for us and use his length and size, that’ll be big for us.”
The coach said he’s also going to be looking for more scoring from senior Coby Henderson, who has struggled with his shot early and may be pressing, and sophomore Caiden Hunt, who is seeing his first significant varsity minutes this season.
Another key takeaway from the December games, Burningham said, is that his team needs to rebound better. “It’s a focus of ours and we set a goal every year that we want to be in the top five in the state,” he said. “So far, we’ve been outrebounded in every game.”
Looking ahead
After the holidays, the Buffs hit the road for two more contests, playing Wyoming Indian Friday, Jan. 5 and St. Stephens Saturday, Jan. 6 before participating in the Big Horn Basin Hoops Classic over the weekend of Jan. 12-13. The first home game of the season is Friday, Jan. 19 against Rocky Mountain.
At 1-7, “Our record doesn’t look too good, but I’m not worried about that,” said Burningham. “I’m worried about improving and getting better.
“If you look at our conference, everyone’s record is one and something or two and something. Everyone is struggling right now, so it’s going to come down to who can improve the most between now and regionals.”

Big Piney    14 12 9 13 — 48
Greybull      9 15 9 12 — 45
BIG PINEY —  Caden Hunt 0-6 0-0 0, Jesus Rodriguez 1-5 1-2 3, Juan Acuna 1-4 0-0 2, Coby Henderson 5-28 2-6 15, Isaac Vigil 0-1 1-2 1, Carlos Rodriguez 11-18 1-2 24.  Totals 18-of-62 5-of-12 45.
3-POINT GOALS — Henderson 3, Rodriguez;  REBOUNDS — Greybull 34 (Rodriguez 14).  ASSISTS — Greybull 6 (Henderson, Hunt 2).  STEALS — Greybull 20 (Rodriguez 7).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 21.
Tongue R.    26 12 7 8 — 53
Greybull      9   6 5 4 — 24
GREYBULL — J. Rodriguez 0-6 0-0 0, Acuna 1-1 0-0 3, Henderson 1-13 0-0 3, Larry Longshore 0-1 0-0 0, Vigil 2-3 0-0 4, Christian Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Yandel Hernandez 1-1 0-0 2, Cole Wisehart 0-1 0-0 0, Rodriguez 4-15 1-2 9, Carter Jacobs 1-1 0-0 2, Lucas Bolzer 0-0 1-2 1.  Totals 10-of-43 2-of-4 24.
3-POINT GOALS — Acuna, Henderson.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 21 (J. Rodriguez, Rodriguez 6).  ASSISTS — Greybull 2.  STEALS — Greybull 6 (Vigil 3).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 13.
Wyo. Indian     18 10 17 12 — 57
Greybull    22   7   8   4 — 41
GREYBULL — Hunt 3-6 1-5 7, J. Rodriguez 1-5 1-2 3, Henderson 3-14 4-8 10, Vigil 2-4 0-0 5, Rodriguez 6-17 4-5 16.  Totals 15-46 10-20 41.
3-POINT GOALS — Vigil.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 27 (Rodriguez 9).  ASSISTS — Greybull 6 (Henderson 3).  STEALS — Greybull 10 (Rodriguez 4).  TURNOVERS — 23.
Wright    21 11 10 19 — 61
Greybull      7 12   8 11 — 38
GREYBULL — Hunt 2-9 0-0 5, J. Rodriguez 1-5 2-2 5, Acuna 0-1 0-0 0, Henderson 1-7 7-8 9, Vigil 2-6 1-3 5, Rodriguez 7-14 0-0 14, Bolzer 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 13-of-43 10-of-13 38.
3-POINT GOALS — J. Rodriguez, Hunt.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 28 (Rodriguez 8).  ASSISTS — Greybull 5.  STEALS — Greybull 8 (Rodriguez 3).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 24.