Working overtime

In a closely-contested long weekend of state tournament basketball, the Encampment Tigers lost a double overtime game by 2 points, won an overtime game by 1 point and won another by 3 to take first place in the state's 1A consolation bracket.

In Thursday's opener against the Kaycee Buckaroos, Tigers Head Coach Clint Bromley said the Tigers played tight all game and didn't execute the offense the way they should have.

Although the Tigers had opportunities to win the game in regulation and in the first overtime, Bromley said his team just couldn't finish on the big shots.

Coach Bromley attributed their scoring problems to the large size of the building creating depth perception problems.

In the second overtime the Tigers had gotten in foul trouble and were forced to play two freshman who had seen limited playing time during the season and coach Bromley said, “A couple of turnovers late allowed them the attempts they needed to win.”

Of their Friday game against the Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners, coach Bromley said, “We had a better game from our shooters with four in double figures and we attacked the rim better.” The four double-figures scorers were KeeGan Johnson with 22 points, Guy Erickson with 11 and Jared Stewart and Wyatt Cox with 10 points apiece.

Coach Bromley praised the Miners’ game plan and their ability to get the game to overtime on a layup. Bromley said, “Our help defense was a little slow in stopping the dribble penetration and HEM shot the ball well from the 3-point line to keep the game close.”

Summing up the overtime win, coach Bromley said, “By attacking the rim we were able to get to the foul line where we went 18 for 25 which was the difference in the game.”

The third, and final, game for the Tigers was against the Little Snake River Rattlers. Bromley characterized this game as, “a battle from start to finish.”

“We came out slow and ended the first half down 18 to 28, but this team has battled every weekend in the second half and were able to hold Snake River to 5 points in the third quarter while scoring 13,” said Bromley. “That set the stage for a 17 to 10 final quarter for the win.”

Bromley said the difference in the game was adjustments the Tigers made at the half that slowed the Rattlers offense down and sparked Encampment’s win.

Coach Bromley told his team before the tournament that the games would all be close but that, “I wasn’t expecting three overtimes and to win two games by a total of 4 points while losing one by 2. I thought there was a lot of parity in the teams this year and all of the games were exciting to watch from start to finish.”

When asked about the Tigers’ overall season performance Bromley said, “You don’t have much to complain about when you go 23 and 4 on the season and come out with a trophy in the Regional and State tournaments, but you tend to think about the ones that got away.”

Next season Bromley has to look for players to step up and fill the spots of the four seniors who lead the team this year.

Next year the team will be young–with two juniors, five sophomores and three incoming freshman. The coach said of the transition, “I expect our team speed to increase, but we lose some height across the board. So we should have a team that can compete full-court on offense and defense.”