Wolves bring down Eagles by two

On Thursday, the Wolves boys basketball team traveled to Sundance to take on the second ranked 2A Bulldogs in their third conference game of the season.

The Wolves came out and handled the pressure of the Bulldogs and played a good first quarter, but trailed, 15-13 going into the second. The team really struggled offensively in the second quarter and went into halftime trailing, 27-14.

The second half was back and forth, but the Bulldogs prevailed in the end, 55-34.

I thought we came out ready to play and handled their pressure at times. They are a big athletic team and their defense really bothered us.

We have had a hard time putting four good quarters together and this was no different as the second quarter we really struggled shooting the ball.

Moorcroft high point players: Lane Wood 4, 8; Zane Linder 0, 2-6, 2; Cole Stripp 1, 3, 11; Daniel Bryant 0, 2-2, 2; Gavin Bohanon 0, 2-2, 2; and Clay Stripp 1,2, 8.

Sundance: J Kannimerer 1, 2; B Kruger 2,1, 7; L Martin 4, 1, 1-2, 12; L Rudloff 4, 8; G Mclaughlin 5, 2, 16; L Gill 2, 1, 7; and W Gillespe 0, 1, 3

On Friday night, the Wolves hosted the Southeast Cyclones.

The Wolves came out flat and the Cyclones jumped out to an early 12-0 lead. At the end of one, the Cyclones took a 17-5 lead.

In the second, the boys came out and executed much better, but still trailed going into halftime, 31-21. The second half was played evenly and Southeast went on to win the game, 61-50.

I thought we came out flat and not ready for the intensity that the Cyclones brought. We dug ourselves into a hole that was too much to climb out of. They are a good basketball team that you can’t afford to have a slow start with and they made us pay for it.

Southeast: H Anderson 3, 3, 2-2 17; D Randall 1,1, 1-4, 6; B Herring 3, 2, 2-2, 14; C Herring 2, 3-4, 7; S Anderson 7, 14; H Hall 1, 1-2 3.

Moorcroft: Caden Connally 1, 2; Lane Wood 2, 4-4, 8; Zane Linder 6, 1-4, 7 13; Cole Stripp 1, 2; Daniel Bryant 1, 2-3, 4; Gavin Bohanon 1,1, 5; and Clay Stripp 3,2, 12.

On Saturday, the Wolves traveled to Dayton to take on the #3 2A Tongue River Eagles.

The Eagles came into the game with a 10-1 record and are a very athletic, deep team. The Eagles jumped on top of the Wolves early and lead, 18-7 after the first quarter.

The Wolves stepped up their defense in the second quarter and held the Eagles to eight points. We trailed, 26-14 going into halftime and at half, we talked about taking care of the basketball and really focusing on our defense.

In the third quarter we came out and played well on both sides of the ball and climbed our way back into the game. At the end of three, it was, 35-31 Eagles. The fourth quarter was back and forth and very intense, but the Wolves hit a last second shot to win the game, 51-49.

This group of kids played very hard and never quit. It’s easy to duck your head when things don’t go your way and we didn’t see any of that.

This was a big conference win for us and well deserved as these boys are working very hard to become a better basketball team. Playing three good teams in three days is very grueling and these boys just kept fighting.

I thought we played some really good basketball at times and we are learning what it takes to beat some of these good teams. The Wolves (7-6 overall and 2-2 conference) will host the Lusk Tigers on Saturday. Thank you all for the continued support.

Moorcroft: Lane Wood 11, 1, 3-4, 28; Zane Linder 1, 2; Cole Stripp 1,1, 5; Daniel Bryant 3, 1-2, 7; Clay Stripp 0,2, 3-6, 9.

Tongue River: T Aksamit 1, 1-2, 3; T Walker 2, 3-5, 7; G Bolds 1, 2-2, 4; B Buckman 4, 8; E Cummins 2, 2-2, 6; N Guimond 1, 0-1, 2; S Patterson 4, 1-2, 9; and C Hanft 5, 10.

The JV Wolves boys basketball team beat the Sundance Bulldogs on Thursday night, but would fell to the Southeast Cyclones on Friday and the Tongue River Eagles on Saturday. Coach Petersen is pleased with how the team is coming along and the energy and effort the boys play with.