Consistent scoring from starters and key players off the bench was too much for the rest of the Class 2-A West in regional tournament play as the Wyoming Indian Chiefs take the top seed into next Thursday’s opening round of the state tournament.
Wyoming Indian withstood an early barrage by rival St. Stephen’s in semi-final action Thursday in a 54-38 win over the Eagles then led start to finish over a fundamental Greybull squad in the championship Saturday afternoon 57-44.
The Chiefs open state tournament play at 1:30 pm Thursday at Casper College.
The St. Stephen’s game was a wild one as it usually is when the Chiefs and Eagles meet on the hardwood.
St. Stephen’s is a team that opens every contest blitzkrieg style in a flurry of non-stop motion, steals, and quick jump shots. When St. Stephen’s is hot, points flow like a river.
The Eagles were blistering in the opening six minutes of play. They took a 10-0 lead and then jumped that to 18-2 before Wyoming Indian recovered.
Some teams recover, the Chiefs rolled back in on a blitz of their own.
Wyoming Indian answered the 18-2 run by the Eagles with an identical replay, tying the game at 20-20 at the half.
In the second half, the Chiefs took the ball inside behind Darwin Gambler, Heeyeniniitou Monroe-Black, and Kelyn Mount who tallied 14, 13, and eight on the game to lead Wyoming Indian.
Many fans of Riverton basketball note that the home end of the floor, on the south side of the building almost always offers better shooting than the north. That was the case Friday night with Wyoming Indian heating up on the south side, and the Eagles cooling off from the perimeter on the north.
St. Stephen’s dropped into the consolation bracket after the loss and despite a heroic effort by Cadyn LoneDog in scoring 30 of the Eagles 37 points, the season came to an end early Saturday morning at Riverton Middle School 63-37 to Kemmerer.
Saturday’s championship game featured a ball control, patterned Greybull squad against the familiar pressure defense and quick passing of Wyoming Indian.
The Chiefs half-court defense was a bigger factor than their scoring as they limited the Buffs to just 11 points in the opening half, four in the first and seven in the second period.
The Chiefs were as balanced as head coach Craig Ferris could hope for with Tyson Soundingsides leading the way at 14 points. Monroe-Black, and Parlayne Ferris each tallied 10, and Gambler, Mount, and Spoonhunter had eight, seven, and six respectively.
Greybull had a one-two punch in hot shooting guard Cody Henderson who hit three 3-pointers en route to 15 points and forward Carlos Rodriguez who led the Buffs with 16.
Wyoming Indian opens the tournament with a familiar opponent in the Pine Bluffs Hornets.
WYOMING INDIAN 9 11 9 25 – 54
ST. STEPHEN’S 18 2 4 14 – 38
Wyoming Indian – Darwin Gambler 4 6-6 14, Kelyn Mount 4 0-2 8, Ryan Martel 2-2 2, Darian Augustine 1 0-0 2, Parlayne Ferris 1 (1) 0-0 5, Heeyeniniitou Monroe-Black 5 (1) 0-0 13, Teryn Martel 1 0-0 2, Cordell Spoonhunter (1) 2-2 5, Adriano Brown 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 (2) 10-12 54
St. Stephen’s – Cadyn LoneDog 2 (1) 0-0 7, Stephon LoneDog 2-2 2, Stephen LoneDog 4 (1) 0-0 11, Lawrence Jenkins 2 0-0 4, Leland Fighting Bear 1 (1) 3-4 8, Ethan Fighting Bear 3 0-0 6. Totals 12 (3) 5-6 38
WYOMING INDIAN 12 16 14 15 – 57
GREYBULL 4 7 11 20 – 44
Wyoming Indian – Gambler 2 (1) 1-2 8, Mount 3 1-2 7, Augustine 1 0-0 2, Ferris 2 (2) 0-0 10, Monroe-Black 5 0- 0 10, Soundingsides 4 4-4 12, Martel 1 0-0 2, Spoonhunter 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 (3) 6-8 57
Greybull – Caden Hunt 1 0-0 2, Jesus Rodriguez (1) 1-2 4, Coby Henderson 1 (3) 4-4 15, Juan Acuna 1 0-0 2, Isaac Vigil 1 3-6 5, Carlos Rodriguez 6 (1) 1-1 16. Totals 10 (5) 9-13
1:30 CC Pine Bluffs