HEM boys evade Longhorns

The Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners were hosted by the Rock River Longhorns on February 11 where they managed to dig down for a narrow conference win. The win, described by Head Coach Cliff Jones as a battle, was HEM’s second against the Longhorns and puts them in the No. 3 spot of the 1A Southeast Conference.

“The game went to overtime,” Jones said. “We had a chance to win it in the end and we came up short. In overtime we traded buckets but we got the two points that put us ahead.”

Jones said the game was a good team effort.

“In the beginning, Hayden (Atencio) sort of took over the game for a while. He got 29 points,” Jones said. “Then we got into a little bit of foul trouble with Hayden and Kyler (Proffitt) on the bench, and Naythen (Atencio) picked up the slack.”

While there was following trouble, and some scoring by the Atencio brothers, Jones said other members of the team were able to step up and contribute to the win over Rock River.

“Rayce (Ward) scored double what he normally does and the boys did what needed to be done, especially when you consider we were down most of the 3rd quarter,” Jones said. “There is so much more to the game than scoring.”

Jones provided an example with Jesse Deegan, who didn’t come out similar to the Agencies or Ward.

“He is a player who might not be considered great in any one thing but he is good at everything,” said Jones. “He can play every position well. Jesse can be a post or guard, he is very versatile. In a game like Rock River where he played many combinations, Jesse filled in where we needed him.”

Jones believes the players are buying into their roles on the team.

“It is not what you do to get the best stats and make yourself look good. They understand it is about what you can do to help the team become competitive,” Jones said. “That can be hard for some kids to buy into. There is a majority of kids who want to see their stats. They want to see their names in the paper. They want to see their points, they want to see their rebounds.”

A player who exemplifies that, according to Jones, is Royal Olsen.

“We put Royal on their 6 foot 7 (inch) player,” Jones said. “Royal is 5 foot 10 (inches), so this was no easy task. Royal took on the challenge and he was up for it, and it was nice to see. Royal literally had no stats in this game, but he was essential to us winning the game,”

Jones said a team needs players who will sacrifice stats for getting the job done. If Royal hadn’t played defense the way he had, Jones said he doesn’t know if the Miners would have won their second game against Rock River.

“That won’t show up in a stat sheet,” said Jones. “Naythen, Rayce, Jesse, all these boys. These boys’ efforts were just as important as the points Kyler and Hayden gave us. It was a team effort and that is how we won.”

The final score was 51-49, HEM. Winning this game puts them as the third seed and Jones is pleased.

“The Northeast conference puts us against the number two seed instead of Upton, the number one seed, who are quite good,” Jones said. “I think the number two seed will be either Kaycee or Hulett. Both are good teams but they are not Upton. That was why it was huge to that third seed. We are avoiding that top team in the beginning. It gives us a better chance in the tournament.”

Following their win against Rock River, the HEM Miners are 5-11 for the season and 2-2 in conference play. The Miners will have hosted the Encampment Tigers on February 14. The Miners will then host the Guernsey-Sunrise Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the Southeast Cyclones at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.