Varsity boys defeated on home court
By Gabrielle Gasser Associate Editor
BIG SKY – Both Class C Lone Peak High School varsity basketball teams faced off against the Class B Townsend Bulldogs on the evening of Feb. 4. The Bough Dolan Athletic Center was packed with Big Horn and Bulldog fans, all of whom cheered with pride all evening.
The Lady Big Horns kept a close score with the Lady Bulldogs early in the game until the final minutes of the first quarter. Senior Carly Wilson hit a 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter to give the Lady Big Horns the lead, 11-8.
In the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs built a big lead scoring 19 points to the Lady Big Horns’ five points. Lots of offensive rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs gave them second-chance points and they ended the half leading the Lady Big Horns 27-16.
In the second half, the Lady Big Horns made three 3-pointers and their relentless defensive play shut down many scoring opportunities for the Lady Bulldogs, limiting their opponent to just 10 points the entire half.
“All week, we’ve been doing defensive bootcamp and we’ve been working on our defense a lot,” Wilson said after the game. “So that was our focus for the game, and it really paid off because they only scored 10 points in the second half.”
Lone Peak scored 15 points in the third quarter to Townsend’s seven, closing the deficit to just three points, ending the third quarter with a score of 34-31.
“Down 14 with 4:40 left in the third quarter the team showed great poise and resilience with a lockdown defensive effort holding Class B Townsend to 10 points in the second half and three in the fourth quarter,” Head Coach Loren Bough wrote in an email to EBS.
Early in the fourth quarter the score was tied at 34 after another Lady Big Horn 3-pointer.
“Five 3-pointers in the second half from four players gave a much-needed boost to our offense,” Bough wrote.
The Lady Bulldogs suffered a few traveling calls, turning the ball over to the Lady Big Horns. Halfway through the quarter the Lady Big Horns pulled ahead to 36-34.
The Lady Big Horns held on to that lead and a buzzer-beater layup from junior Kate King brought the final score up to 43-37 for the Lady Big Horns.
“I’m just really proud of our ability to come back from a couple of losses,” Wilson said after the game. “We’ve completely changed our game this year and it was really awesome to see it pay off especially against a Class B team like Townsend.”
The Lady Big Horns now have a 6-9 overall record for the season.
Tomorrow, the JV boys and Lady Big Horns host the Lima Bears at the Bough Dolan Athletic Center.
Following the Lady Big Horns, the boys took the court to test their mettle against a Class B team.
The Bulldogs came out with a lightning-fast offense and a pressure defense that largely kept the Big Horns out of the key. Junior Max Romney led the Big Horns in scoring for the evening logging a total of 29 points. He attacked the basket continuously in the first quarter making a handful of 3-pointers and layups.
The Bulldogs held on to their lead in the second quarter scoring 19 points to the Big Horns’ 16. A few different Lone Peak players contributed points including junior Gus Hammond, sophomore Juliusz Shipman, senior John Chadwell, sophomore Aidan Germain and Romney.
At halftime, the Bulldogs led the Big Horns 38-26.
After the half, both teams came out with scrappy, high energy. A 3-pointer apiece from Romney and Hammond kept the Big Horns competitive though the Bulldogs widened their lead to 55-41 at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulldogs had their highest-scoring quarter of the evening in the fourth with 22 points. The Big Horns capitalized on a couple fast-break opportunities and drew some fouls, but the Bulldogs went on a scoring streak that put them 21 points ahead in the end for a final score of 77-56.
“I thought the boys played incredibly hard and we were able to compete with a bigger, more experienced team for most of the game,” wrote Head Coach John Hannahs in an email to EBS. “It was a challenge that helped us prepare for our final games before the district tournament.”
On Feb. 3 the varsity boys played the Shields Valley High School Rebels. The Big Horns fell 69-47 to the Rebels on the road.
The Big Horns have a 3-13 overall record for the season.
The LPHS boys and girls teams play the Sheridan Panthers at home on Feb. 11 for their Senior Night matchup and last home game of the season.
