At their best

The Encampment Tigers were able to deal two losses to conference rivals over the weekend as they hosted the Farson-Eden Pronghorns (6-5, 1-2) on Friday and the Cokeville Panthers (6-7, 0-2) on Saturday. Last season, both teams were hurdles for Encampment on the way to the 1A State Championship.

These wins, both with double digit leads, appear to give the Tigers confidence as they continue with their season.

Senior Reid Schroeder said "We picked up important wins and it has given us confidence to keep performing like that. We can't be satisfied now, though. Always room to improve."

Tigers vs. Pronghorns

Last season, the Tigers and Farson-Eden both advanced to the Championship Round in Casper only for the Pronghorns to snag victory away in the final seconds. This season, Encampment has recovered from that loss and put the Pronghorns on notice.

"Rebound was crucial for us in that game and I thought winning the rebounding battle helped lead us to victory," Schroeder said.

Dalton Peterson was the leader of the Tigers with 18 points and 14 rebounds and was followed by Koye Gilbert with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Dayne Anderson scored 12 points. The final score against the Pronghorns was 50-30.

Tigers vs. Panthers

"I thought we played a whole game," said Schroeder. "Everyone did their part on both sides of the ball and I think that is when we're at our best."

Cokeville doesn't appear to be at their best this year as they are currently sitting at the bottom of the 1A Southwest Conference. During their Saturday game, the visiting Panthers could not keep the hosting Tigers from a nearly 40-point lead.

Peterson scored 24 points against Cokeville and had 10 rebounds, Anderson scored 21 points, Gilbert scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds and Schroeder scored 10 points and had 7 assists.

"Anytime you can get conference wins at home, it just builds confidence for the team and it relieves pressure for the rest of the regular season," Schroeder said.

The final score against Cokeville was 75-37.

Following these two conference wins, the Tigers are 13-0 for the season and 4-0 in conference play and lead the 1A Southwest. Encampment will host the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners at 4 p.m. on January 31 and return to conference play as they are hosted by the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers at noon on February 1.