Tigers retake top

The Encampment Tigers didn't let their loss against the Farson-Eden Pronghorns last weekend keep them down for long as they came roaring back onto their home court with a 62-point lead against the Rock River Longhorns (4-9, 0-1) on Friday and celebrated their second victory against the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers (7-7, 0-4) on Saturday, propelling the Tigers back to the No. 1 spot in the 1A Southwest Conference as the Pronghorns lost to the Cokeville Panthers over the weekend by 1 point in triple overtime.

Tigers vs. Longhorns

The last time the Longhorns ventured into the Valley was when they were hosted by the Saratoga Panthers and, while there, lost by nearly 30 points. When Rock River entered Tiger Nation, Encampment quickly took control of the game and forced the Longhorns into multiple turnovers. Rock River didn't even have a chance to get the ball down the court before the Tigers stole the ball. By the end of the first quarter, the Longhorns had only scored 12 points to Encampment's 32.

As the game continued, it was more of the same as Dalton Peterson, Kyler Miller, Dayne Anderson, Reid Schroeder and Sean Stewart worked together to end the first half with a score of 59-17 and ensuring that the second half would start with a running clock. While the third quarter began with the varsity, Tigers Head Coach Jake Johnston subbed the entire team with junior varsity members barely minutes into the second half.

Replacing every starter with the JV players, one might have expected Rock River to have closed the substantial deficit some. This, however, was not at all the case as players like Koye Gilbert and Caysen Barkhurst showed that they, too, can command the court. In the second half, the Longhorns scored a total of 4 points. Encampment, meanwhile, scored six times that amount, adding 24 points to what would be an over 60 point lead by the end of the game. As the buzzer sounded, the Tigers ended the game 83-21 over Rock River.

Peterson was the lead scorer against Rock River with 19 points. Miller followed with 16 points and Schroeder with 10 points. Koye Gilbert scored 8 points and had 6 rebounds, Kagan Gilbert had scored 6 points and also had 6 rebounds and Justin "JD" Shaw scored 6 points and had 5 steals against the Longhorns.

Tigers vs. Rattlers

When Encampment was hosted by the Rattlers, the Tigers left with a single-digit lead of 6 points. LSRV was still licking its wounds from the defeat at the hands of the Saratoga Panthers on Thursday when they entered Tiger Nation on Saturday. Encampment did not let the Rattlers ruin the momentum they were regaining, however, and would end the game with a 24 point lead.

Peterson, again, led the team as he scored 29 points against Baggs and had 7 steals, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Miller followed with 17 points and 8 rebounds, Stewart followed with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Schroeder scored 6 points and had 8 assists and Anderson scored 8 points against the Rattlers.

The home court win marks the second victory that the Tigers have had over LSRV, the first one being on the Rattler's home court just a few weeks ago. With their 2-0 weekend, and back on track following their loss to Farson-Eden, Encampment is now 13-1 for the season and 3-1 for conference.

The Tigers are celebrating their homecoming week as they host the Cokeville Panthers (10-3, 1-1) at 4 p.m. on Jan. 31 and the Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners at noon on Feb. 2 for their homecoming game.