Encampment eliminated by Little Snake River Valley

The Encampment Tigers season came to an end in a heartbreaking loss to the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers 55-47 on February 19 in Rawlins.

This was not Encampment and LSRV’s first rodeo together and they are not strangers to one another. In their first meeting of the season, the Tigers lost to the Rattlers on the road on February 6 in a 65-53 overtime thriller. The Tigers and Rattlers squared off again on February 16 but, this time, Encampment captured the win on their home court in a 58-53 loss.

Their battle continued for their right to travel to Lander for the 1A West Regionals Tournament. Both teams gave it their all for four full quarters. In the end, the Rattlers stood their ground and came out on top playing aggressive defense against Encampment.

LSRV was led by juniors Brider Cozzens, Jaziel Giron, and Ervey Marquez. All three players had an amazing performance on defense and were successful in stopping Encampment late in the 4th quarter. Cozzens said his team was ready and knew that they had their work cut out, especially going up against Encampments defense.

“It was a great game and Encampment came out playing tough,” Cozzens said. “We had a good lead against them but they came out and they fought us hard. I knew that we had it in us and our team wanted this win. Our guys played physical both on offense and defense and we pulled it off.”

Cozzens was reminded by his coaching staff that the 1A Southwest Conference is always up for grabs where anyone can beat anyone on any day. It is one of the reasons why Cozzens said he was not discouraged in facing Encampment again.

Giron said he knew Encampment is not an easy team. He said t the team goal was to go toe to toe with the Tigers and play physically on both sides of the ball.

“It was a tough game we had to come out and play,” Giron said. “Our team had to be ready and we knew that Encampment was going to be ready for sure so we just had to show up,”

Marquez, who made some key steals and made important free throws to knock off Encampment, said his team had a great game plan going into their third battle with the Tigers.

“Our game plan was to pressure them a little bit since they had some young guards,” Marquez said. “In our second game against Encampment, we were not applying pressure on them so when we pressure them that’s when our team is good on defense because that’s what we do and that is who we are”.

Marquez said he has a lot of respect for Encampment and the mental toughest they give each time they play them. He said they should keep their head high knowing that they gave it their best shot.

In the 1st quarter, LSRV jumped on the scoreboard quickly on a 2-point shot with 7:35 on the clock. The Rattlers would strike again with 6:27 on the clock with a 3-point shot. The Rattlers were up 5-0. With 6:05 on the clock, LSRV’s Giron sets up a pass to Seth Maxon who hits a 3-point basket, and the Ratters took an 8-0 lead.

With 5:54 on the clock, Encampment called for a time out to regroup. At 5:49 the Ratters would score again to make it 10-0. Tiger’s Ryon Miller would finally get Encampment on the scoreboard with 5:42 on the clock. The score was now 10-2 in favor of LSRV.

With 3:35 on the clock the Ratters widened their lead on a 3-point basket and the score was now 13-2 in favor of LSRV. The Tigers would score again with 3:34 on the clock on a 2-point basket and the score was now 13-4 in favor of the Rattlers.

With 1:56 on the clock, Encampment scored again on a 2-point shot. The score was now 13-6 in favor of LSRV. With under one minute on the clock, the Ratters hit a 2-point basket shot and the score was 15-6 but the Tigers would quickly score back and the score was now 15-8 in favor of the Rattlers.

With 33 seconds on the clock, Encampment’s Miller made only 1 point at the free throw line and the score was now 15-9 in favor of LSRV. The Ratters would get the rebound from the free throw and score a 3-point basket to extend the lead to 18-9. With 15 seconds on the clock, the Tigers scored a 2-point basket before the end of the quarter. The score was 18-11 in favor of LSRV at the end of the 1st quarter.

In the 2nd quarter, with 7:35 on the clock, LSRV scored a 2-point shot and the score was now 20-11 in favor of the Rattlers. With 6:30 on the clock, Encampment made a 3-point shot and the score was 20-14 in favor of LSRV.

With 6:25 on the clock, Tiger’s Kaben Pickett went to the free throw line but only made 1 point and the score was 20-15 in favor of the Rattlers. With 6:13 on the clock, LSRV struck back with a 3-point basket and the score was 23-15 in favor of the Rattlers. Encampment fired back with under five minutes on the clock on a 3-point basket and the score was 23-18.

The Tigers came back and kept the game in reach with 4:10 on the clock when Encampment’s Miller scored 2 points and the score was now 23-20. With under two minutes on the clock, Tiger’s Pickett would go to the free throw line and make 2 points. The Ratters were now scratching their heads knowing that the score was 23-22.

LSRV scored 2 points with 1:30 on the clock but the Tigers answered back with 1:10 on the clock and the score was 25-24 in favor of the Rattlers. With under one minute left the LSRV scored again and it was now 27-24 in favor of the Rattlers. Then with 39.4 seconds on the clock, Encampment’s Pickett scored 2 points and then was fouled. Pickett scored 1 point at the free throw and the score tied at 27-27

With 11.3 seconds on the clock, LSRV’s Maxon would get to the free throw line and make 2 points. The score was now 29-27 at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, with 7:04 on the clock, Encampment’s Miller went to the free throw line and scored 1 point. The score was now 29-28 in favor of the Rattlers. The Tigers took the lead for the first time at 6:16 on the clock with a 2-point shot and the score was 30-29. LSRV called a timeout at 4:29 on the clock.

With 3:58 on the clock, the Ratters hit a 3-point shot and jumped back into the lead at 32-30. LSRV struck again when the Rattler’s Maxson hit a 2-point basket and the score was now 34-30 in favor of LSRV.

With 1:40 on the clock, Encampment’s Dash Baysinger would go to the free throw line and make 1 point. The score was 34-31 in favor of LSRV. With 1:10 on the clock, the Ratters would score on a 2-point basket and the score was now 36-31.

LSRV would hit a 3-point basket just a few seconds before the buzzer hit and the score was 39-31 in favor of the Rattlers at the end of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter would turn into a roller coaster ride for both teams knowing it’s either win or go home.

With 7:38 on the clock, the Tigers hit a 2-point basket and the score was now 39-33 in favor of LSRV. The Ratters answered right back with 6:35 on the clock on a 2-point shot and the score was 41-33 in favor of LSRV. With under six minutes left, LSRV scored 5 points and Encampment would get 4 points. The score was 46-37 in favor of the Ratters with 5:30 on the clock.

With 4:40 on the clock, Encampment’s Kannon Gilbert hit a 3-point basket and the score was now 46-40 in favor of LSRV. The Ratters were far from being done and struck again at 4:35 on the clock with the score now 48-40. With 4:17 on the clock the Tigers scored on a 2 point shot to make the score 48-42

The Tigers were fighting to stay alive as they hit a 3-point basket with 3:08 on the clock and the score was 48-45, Rattlers in the lead. With 1:00 on the clock, LSRV hit a 2-point shot and the score was now 50-45 in favor of the Rattlers.

With 46 seconds on the clock, Encampment’s Brian Smith got the important steal. He went to the free throw line and made 2 points with 44 seconds on the clock. From here on out, LSRV had the game locked up.

The Rattlers’ Cozzens went to the free throw line with 24.1 seconds on the clock and made 2-points. With 12.8 seconds LSRV’s Marquez got 1 point. The Ratters ended it with 0.57 seconds on a 2-point shot and the final score was 55-47.

LSRV Rattlers head coach Jack Cobb said he is impressed with his team’s performance and the way they work hard for the full four quarters. He said they never gave up and never let off the gas.

“We knew that this game would go down to the wire,” Cobb said. “I am proud of my boys and they kept their mind straight and did a great job down the stretch. We also made baskets when we needed and they stayed calm.”

Cobb said his guys overcame a lot of adversity by dealing with injuries and illness. He said that his team has disciplined themselves and it paid off against Encampment. He also said his main motivation to his boys was that they have a chance because the 1A Southwest is always up for grabs and anyone can beat anyone.