Rotation keeps Miners fresh for regionals

Coach plays whole team in win before Douglas, energized team goes 3-1 on way to State

Before going to regionals on the weekend, the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School boys basketball team had a game against the Laramie Sophomores on Feb. 19 where they won 54-51.

"We got to play a lot of kids," Head basketball Cliff Jones said. "We would go up by 10 points and I would put some players in and then the lead would go down and I would put back in starters."

He said this afforded him the opportunity to put in players that don't see a lot of time on court.

"We don't usually play right before regionals, so this was a great chance to have all the kids get some time in because we are a team and all players need to feel comfortable going onto court at this stage in the season," Jones said.

He said Laramie had some excellent three point shooting.

"They scored three pointers the first four times down court," Jones said. "We did what we needed to and adjusted."

He said the starters had balanced scoring.

"Shane (McGraw) had 15 points and 9 rebounds, Brendon (Reeves) had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Devon (Grosstick) had 8 points and Basil Phillips had 4 points and that was pretty much our scoring," Jones said. "Shane and Conor didn't even score the second half, he did all his points in the first half. Brendon and Devon did all their scoring in the second half. This way, I didn't wear out my starters for regionals."

Jones said the win was a good send off for the trip to regionals.

Hulett

On Thursday the first team that the Miners faced was the Hulett Devils (88-60) which had an overall record of 10-12 to HEM 12-8 overall. HEM was seeded number two and Hulett was seeded three. Jones said the game started out very competitive.

"It was a pretty close game in the first half but we outscored them 32-12 in the third quarter to break it open," Jones said.

There was balance with the scoring by the Miners with S. McGraw scoring 23 points and 12 rebounds, Reeves made 22 points with 8 assists, C. McGraw had 16 points and Devon Grosstick made 15 points.

Upton

On Friday, the first game the Miners had to face was the number one seed Upton which had a record of 23-1 overall for the regular season. The Bobcats, who were the eventual champions of the East bracket, beat the Miners 70-51.

Although HEM did not come out on top, Jones said there were some good moments to give him confidence the team would continue in the tournament.

"We played well at times but we were not able to answer their runs," Jones said. "They are a very physical team with some really good shooters and a strong inside game."

He said there was a reason the Bobcats went the whole distance.

"They can score in many different ways and play in your face man defense," Jones pointed out.

Reeves was the leading scorer with18 points and C. McGraw had 16 points.

NSI Academy

In the semi-consolation game on Friday, the Miners faced off against the NSI Academy Wolves. The Miners won 48-47 but the Jones said the game was tough to win.

"This game was about as ugly as basketball as we have played all year," Jones said. "We were lucky to get the win and nearly lost the game at the buzzer."

But they did win and off they went to play for a chance to place third.

C. McGraw had 16 points with nine rebounds, Grosstick scored nine points and had nine rebounds and Reeves had 9 points.

Lingle

The Miners faced Lingle for third place on Saturday.

HEM handily won 51-26.

"It was one of the best, and most complete games that we have played all season," Jones said. "We lost in Lingle to them two weeks ago 53-59, but felt we could play with them if we had another chance."

HEM got that chance and proved Jones correct.

"It was by far the best defensive effort we have has this season," Jones said. 

He was especially pleased with Grosstick's performance.

"I thought Devon did an outstanding job of playing post defense against some very good players.  He really held his own and I an so proud of his effort," Jones said. "We have been preaching to our kids that we have to play better defensively if we want to compete with  best teams in the state.  Hopefully we can build on this  moving forward for this final week of basketball."

Reeves scored 18 points. He was six for eight shooting three pointers. C. McGraw scored 14 points and Grosstick had 10 points.

Going to State

"The boys team played well this weekend," Jones said. "We are excited to have again qualified for the state tournament. This week we want to enjoy the experience and hopefully play well while competing to the best of our ability."

Both the Miners and the Lady Miners are going to State after this weekend. This is the first time in the school's history both teams are going to state at the same time. The excited community of Hanna had the Marshal and fire department escort the busses to the school from Hanna junction to a waiting crowd at around 10:30 pm.

The Miners will first face off against the Encampment Tigers at the State Tournament on Feb. 28 in Casper.

 

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