Tigers win first two conference contests

The Tigers had a successful weekend against conference foes Cokeville Panthers and Farson/Eden Pronghorns.

One impressive shot in the game against the Pronghorn game was made by Gage Bartlett who sank a half court shot for 3 points in the final second of the first quarter.

"It's something the boys all do at the end of practice," Encampment head coach Clint Bromley said, "but this is the first time any one of the boys have made it."

The Tigers proved they do not get too excited when they are down, as they game back from a 11 point deficit in the first quarter to a tied game at the half. Head Coach Clint Bromley said he was pleased with the way the boys played the Cokeville game. "They were rattled a little bit, but once we got them calmed down, things went our way."

The Cokeville Panthers struck first with a 3-pointer – a shot they would use throughout the first quarter to gain their lead.

Hunter Hammer got the Tigers' first point at the line, while KeeGan Johnson scored 2 points to tie the game early at 3 points. The Panthers shut out the Tigers for the next several minutes gaining 13 points.

The quarter ended with the Tigers down 11-22.

The Tigers got the first bite in the second quarter, but it was followed by another Cokeville 3-pointer.

Cokeville ran the score up to 27 points before the Tigers got their bearing and shut out the Panthers in the last half of the second quarter. The Tigers scored 12 points while keeping the Panthers at 27 to tie the game at the half.

In the third quarter, the Tigers took the lead for the first time in the game and kept it through the rest of the quarter. The third quarter ended with the Tigers ahead by 3 points at 46-43 after Guy Erickson hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the game, only for the Panthers to do the same with 8 seconds left.

The Tigers were successful at the line with Bartlett, Wyatt Cox, Erickson and Jared Stewart adding points.

The Panthers tied the game with a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Erickson scored his 3-pointer a minute later and the Tigers had a 3-point lead for 30 seconds before Cokeville sunk 2.

Cox pushed the Tigers ahead with two buckets followed by a 3-pointer by Bartlett. While the Tigers were driving up their score, the only points the Panthers were getting was at the line.

Before long, the Tigers had a 10-point lead, when the Panthers started scoring again. In the last minutes of the game, the Tigers shut off the Panthers' scoring and made an additional 5 points. The last lick the Cokeville Panthers got in was a 3-pointer, before the Tigers won 69-58.

Bartlett led the scoring with 22 points, four assists and two steals. KeeGan Johnson just missed a double- double with 18 points and nine rebounds. He made up for it with four assists and three steals.

Erickson scored 12 points, had 8 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Cox scored 11 points and had an impressive five steals. Jared Stewart's nine rebounds helped the Tigers with the win. He also scored 5 points and had four assists.

Against the Farson/Eden Pronghorns on Saturday, the Pronghorns scored the first shot with a 3-pointer, but the Tigers returned with three buckets, including a 3-pointer and a point at the line before the Pronghorns scored again.

The game was tied with 40 seconds left, before the Pronghorns pulled ahead with a 3-pointer. It looked as if the Tigers were going to go into the second quarter down by 3 points, when Gage Bartlett threw the ball with 1.1 seconds remaining in the quarter. The ball hit the hoop as the buzzer went off, tying the score at 18. "You can call it luck, or whatever. But you are going to get those shots every once in a while," Bromley said.

The Pronghorns took the lead in the second quarter. Halfway through the quarter, the Tigers tied the score. Cox scored two buckets to take the lead at the end of the half 31-30.

The Tigers came out hot during the third quarter scoring 9 points, shutting out the Pronghorns and giving the Tigers a 9-point lead. The quarter ended with the Tigers ahead 46-38.

The Tigers continued their hot streak throughout the fourth quarter. The Pronghorns only got 7 points in the entire quarter, while the Tigers scored 21. The Tigers won 67-48.

Bromley said the boys played as a team last weekend. "(The Pronghorns) found out there are more scoring threats than just Guy Erickson. Four other kids had double figures this weekend and that makes for a good team down the stretch."

Against Farson, Erickson scored 14 points, had eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. KeeGan Johnson also scored 14 and had 8 rebounds. Hunter Hammer and Bartlett each put 12 points on the board and had eight rebounds. Bartlett also had five assists and three steals. Cox scored 9 points with two steals, while Jared Stewart scored 6 points, grabbed eight rebounds and put up two assists.

It's homecoming week for the Tigers and with it comes lots of activities to keep the team busy.

Bromley doesn't seem too worried about playing three games in three days. "We play three games during tournament and this gets them ready for that," Bromley said. The games are all non-conference games. "We are going to prepare for them." Bromley is expecting Saratoga to play a good game and he hopes the games will be good ones for the fans as well. "It's just an old rivalry. It has calmed down in the past couple years, but with them coming back to the conference (the rivalry) will come back up again.