Tigers maul Wildcats, take next two of three

The Encampment Tigers (6-1) put on a show for their fans Dec. 16 with a solid win against the North Park (Walden) Wildcats.

The win was particularly sweet for senior Luke Pantle, who attended school in Walden before moving to Encampment. "He had a great game against (the Wildcats)," Encampment head coach Clint Bromley said.

"Our boys came out and executed pretty well," Bromley added. The Tigers trounced the Wildcats 68-32.

Bromley said he wasn't sure what to expect with the Walden team because they lost five seniors last year. Bromley told the team to go out and play the best for their fans.

The Tigers continued their streak into the weekend with two solid wins at the Lingle Tournament.

The Tigers beat Midwest (1-5) Friday, 72-26. Pantle racked up 32 points, 10 of 11 from the line. He also had nine rebounds.

Guy Erickson scored 16 points and hit 100 percent of his shots from the line. He had 10 rebounds and six assists.

Hunter Hammer also scored 100 percent at the free throw line and had 10 points in the game.

Bromley said they played a good defense and executed on offense very well.

This is the first year in the Lingle Tournament for the Encampment Tigers. Bromley said he wanted his team to have an opportunity to play other teams they would see later on at regionals. "They get a little experience playing outside of the conference, and get a little tournament experience" Bromley said.

On Saturday, the Encampment boys lost to Lingle/Fort Laramie (5-1) 46-53.

"This was a very even game," Bromley said. Both teams were taking almost the same number of shots, getting the same number of rebounds ad making the same amount of turnovers. "(Lingle/Fort Laramie) gets the win in their home gym, deservingly so, and we look forward to playing them against in hopefully a state tournament game."

Bromley said it as a good learning experience for the Encampment players to experience the physicality of the game in the Southeast conference.

Pantle scored 18 points in the Lingle-Fort Laramie game, 5 of 6 were from the line. KeeGan Johnson scored 10 points and had five rebounds. Hammer scored 8 points with Gage Bartlett adding 7.

The Encampment Tigers won again versus Guernsey/Sunrise, a team Bromley refers to as extremely talented. The final score was 77-61.

Guernsey represented the Southeast conference at state last year. "We learned something about our team defense and how we can make some adjustments that can help us win games down the road," Bromley said.

Pantle had a chance to really shine during this game and came close to a triple double, according to Bromley.

Pantle had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He sunk 6 of 7 points at the free throw line. Erickson racked up 24 points and had 100 percent at the line. KeeGan Johnson had 21 points and eight rebounds.

"We had some injuries that prevented two players from participating in this game, and that opened the door for some more experiences for our freshman and we hope that will be a plus for us down the road in conference play," Bromley said.

"The got to see a different style of play and handled it pretty well," Bromley said. "We had two pretty good wins [at tournament] and did quite a few things right."

Bromley said it is early in the season and they are working out their offense and defense.

Once the team defense is set, the team will be quite a bit better off, Bromley said.

The Encampment team hosts Dubois at noon on Jan. 3.