Tigers bare their teeth in season opener

It was a strong start for the season for the Encampment Tigers as they hosted the Carbon County Classic over the weekend and went 3-1.

The Tigers faced off against the Midwest Oilers, the Burlington Huskies, the Dubois Rams and the Ft. Washakie Eagles dealing losses to everyone except for the Huskies. Even then, Burlington barely left Tiger Nation with the win.

“It was fun to kick the season off. I thought our team competed well and played well together,” said Jake Johnston, head coach of the Encampment Tigers. “It was good to see what our early season strengths and weaknesses are. I think that effort was the best attribute that I saw, every player was out there working hard.”

Tigers vs. Oilers

That hard work was first evident against Midwest, who ultimately fell to the Tigers by a nearly 40 point margin. In fact, in the 1st quarter, Encampment put up 17 points on the board while keeping the Oilers to just two points. This theme continued for most of the game with Midwest scoring only 5 and 6 points in the 2nd and 4th quarter. The 3rd quarter was the only one in which the Oilers scored double-digits, 16 points to Encampment’s 24 points.

Encampment, meanwhile, saw double-digit scoring all game save for the final quarter as they also put up 22 points in the 2nd quarter.

Gunner Knotwell led the Tigers in scoring against Midwest with 16 points with four of those being 3-pointers. Knotwell also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Dash Baysinger followed in scoring with 12 points, two of them 3-pointers, and 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Ryon Miller scored 10 points and had 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Nearly the entire team was able to score in the match against Midwest showing a well-rounded effort.

The final score was 68-29, Encampment.

Tigers vs. Huskies

Following their win against Midwest, Encampment faced the Huskies who are the defending state champions. This game would prove a battle from the start with fairly even scoring throughout the entire match and Burlington leading by only a few points the entire time.

The 1st quarter saw the Tigers put up 16 points to Burlington’s 18 while the 2nd quarter saw Encampment put up 11 points to the Huskies’ 10. In the second half, Burlington put up 11 points to the Tigers’ 10 and the 4th quarter saw the same scoring as the 1st.

Knotwell again led the Tigers with a total of 19 points, two of them 3-pointers. He also had 8 rebounds and 1 steal. Baysinger scored 9 points and, one of them a 3-pointer, and had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals. Ryon Miller scored 6 points and had 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.

The final score was 57-53, Burlington.

Tigers vs. Rams

Licking their wounds from the final game on Friday, the Tigers started Saturday with a takedown of Dubois. Encampment wasted no time in taking ownership of the game, putting up 20 points in the 1st quarter compared to the Rams’ 7 points. In the 2nd quarter, Dubois put up only 2 points compared to the Tigers’ 22 points. The 3rd quarter was a little closer scoring with Encampment putting up 20 points and the Rams putting up 17. The final quarter saw both teams put up 5 points.

Kannon Gilbert was the lead scorer in this game with 14 points, one of them a 3-pointer, and 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. Kaben Pickett followed with 13 points, also with a 3-pointer, and 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals. Ryon Miller scored 12 points and had 3 rebounds and 1 steal while Knotwell scored 11 points and had 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.

The final score was 67-31, Encampment.

Tigers vs. Eagles

The final game of the weekend saw Encampment pluck the wings of the Eagles in a 30 point lead. Through the entire game, Ft. Washakie couldn’t get into double digit scoring as the Tigers put up double-digits in every quarter except the 2nd.

In the 1st quarter, Encampment scored 16 points while keeping the Eagles to just 8 points and in the 2nd quarter, the Tigers scored 8 points to Ft. Washakie’s 5 points. The 3rd quarter was the most uneven scoring, with Encampment putting up 19 points while the Eagles managed only 3 points. The final quarter saw the Tigers with 12 points and Fort Washakie with 9.

Knotwell again led in scoring with 15 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals. Tyrel Brown followed with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Baysinger, meanwhile, scored 9 points—all 3-pointers—and had 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

The final score was 55-25, Encampment.

With a big push into the season, the Tigers will have hosted their first home game of the season on Tuesday with the North Park Wildcats. Then, it’s another preseason tournament as they compete in the Lingle-Ft. Laramie Dogger Classic on Friday and Saturday.