(Ethete, WY) – Casual fans don’t realize how important a single defensive play can be. It proved to be the difference in a classic battle between Wyoming Indian and Wright at Alfred P. Redman Memorial Gym late Saturday afternoon.
With 2.3. seconds remaining in the game, Wright held a two-point lead. The Chiefs had the ball 94-feet from their basket with just enough time for a final shot.
As Ladanian Brown set to throw a long pass to the far end of the floor Wright’s Jaxson Neely timed his jump perfectly and swatted it out of bounds. It took a half-second off the play.
Brown was able to get the ball into mid-court, but the two passes took too long and the final shot was released after time expired.
It was the second time in as many weeks that Wright beat the Chiefs.
Wyoming Indian rolled over their first three opponents from the Northeast in the annual Foothills classic breaking the century mark against Moorcroft with a 104-32 win. They added an 80-45 win over Tongue River and a 73-47 win over Big Horn before they fell to Wright in the final game of the classic 64-62.
In the Wright game, Neely led all scorers with 36 points, while the Chiefs were paced by Heeyeiniitou Monroe-Black with 20, Darian Augustine with a dozen and Parlayne Ferris with 11.
In a surprise, Big Piney ran over Wright earlier in the tournament 80-55.
In all likelihood, Thermopolis, dropping down from Class 3-A this year will be the new top-ranked team in 2-A.
The Bobcats have wins over Lander and Riverton and remain unbeaten.
WYOMING INDIAN 38 20 29 17 – 104
MOORCROFT 7 11 9 5 – 32
Wyoming Indian – Kenneth Addison 2 (1) 1-1 8, Parlayne Ferris 3 0-0 6, Jordan Black 2 1-2 5, Heeyeiniitou Monroe-Black 6 (2) 0-0 18, Adriano Brown 6 (1) 0-0 15, Marley C’Hair 2 0-3 4, LaDainian Brown 3 (1) 0-0 9, Cordell Spoonhunter 3 (1) 1-1 10, Martin Underwood 1 2-2 4, Darian Augustine 12 (1) 0-0 27. Totals 40 (7) 4-8 104
Moorcroft – Totals 14 4-11 32
WYOMING INDIAN 28 28 15 9 – 80
TONGUE RIVER 10 8 7 20 – 45
Wyoming Indian – Addison 2 (3) 0-0 13, Ferris 1 (1) 2-2 7, Augustine 3 (1) 1-1 10, Black 2 0-0 4, Monroe-Black 6 (1) 0-0 15,Brown 5 0-0 10, Noah Willow 1 (1) 0-0 5, Brown 1 3-3 5, Spoonhunter 3 0-0 6. Totals 25 (8) 6-6 80
Tongue River – Totals 16 (3) 4-6 45
WYOMING INDIAN 24 13 16 18 – 73
BIG HORN 9 10 13 15 – 47
Wyoming Indian – Addison (2) 0-0 6, Ferris 4 0-0 8, Augustine 5 0-0 10, Black 3 0-0 6, Monroe-Black 5 (1) 2-2 15, C’Hair 1 0-0 2, Brown (1) 2-4 5, Spoonhunter 5 4-4 14, Matt A 1 (1) 0-0 5. Totals 25 (5) 8-10 73
Big Horn – Totals 18 (2) 5-15 47
WYOMING INDIAN 22 13 14 13 – 62
WRIGHT
Wyoming Indian – Addison 1 (1) 0-0 5, Ferris 4 (1) 0-0 11, Augustine 4 4-5 12, Monroe-Black 6 (2) 2-2 20, Brown 2 0-0 4, Brown (1) 2-2 5, Spoonhunter 2 1-2 5. Totals 19 (5) 9-11 62
Wright – Jaxson Neely 9 (4) 6-8 36, Jackson Robb (1) 1-2 4, Layne Strohshein 3 0-2 6, Joseph Kimbrell 1 0-0 2, Truatt Strohschein 4 0-0 8, Mitchell Strohschein 4 0-2 8. Totals 22 (5) 5-13 64