Part playground/pickup basketball, part patterned offense, and complete entertainment. The Eagles of Ft. Washakie came to play the Eagles of St. Stephen’s Saturday afternoon, and it was a treat for basketball fans everywhere.
The two teams clawed at each other for 32 minutes of fast-paced, high-octane basketball before the homestanding red and black Eagles of St. Stephen’s edged their rivals from the western portion of the Wind River Indian Reservation 76-70.
The teams are both part of the Class 1-A West Region, with Fort Washakie playing in the Southwest 1-A and St. Stephen’s in the Northwest.
Nine ties and 11 lead changes kept the Casper officiating crew on their toes in the fast-paced battle.
Fort Washakie fielded high school basketball teams long ago in the 1930s and 40s, and St. Stephen’s was a powerhouse in the 1950s and 60s as a Catholic High School. This was the first time the two schools met as sanctioned Wyoming High School Activities Association varsity programs.
From the opening tip, they exchanged leads, made off-balance, fast-paced shots, and hit improbable off-balance 3-point shots. It was as good as small school high school basketball can get.
In the end, it was free-throw shooting that made the difference, with St. Stephen’s hitting 26 of 35 attempts compared to 17 of 23 for Fort Washakie.
There were impressive plays in between the combined 58 free-throw attempts.
Maybe the most impressive came with 1:35 remaining in the opening half when Quincy Teichert whipped a three-quarter court bullet pass to Ty Hereford in stride for a blazing fast layup that lifted Fort Washakie to a brief 32-31 lead.
Fort Washakie rallied in the final minutes of the second period to take a 38-33 lead at the half.
After a hot shooting opening half, both teams cooled off, missing repeated close-range shots.
The score was tied at 40, 44, and finally at 46 as the final period opened.
The final period resembled a heavyweight title fight with both sides throwing haymaker punches, only to have them answered on each occasion.
Fouls proved to be the difference as Fort Washakie lost its big men.
St. Stephen’s had a lift from Tyson Whiteplume, who came off the bench to score 10 points in the final period. Whiteplume hit a pair of follow shots and drained a pair of 3-pointers to pull St. Stephen’s away from their rival Eagles.
Jamonte Roberts led St. Stephen’s with 16 points on seven of 12 shooting from the free throw line. Tristan Monroe added 14, Clifton Monroe on a trio of 3-point shots, and Whiteplume with 10.
Ty Hereford led all scores with 20 for Fort Washakie. Quincy Teichert had 13, Tilden Tillman 11, and Jonah Hill 10.
St. Stephen’s 18 15 13 30 – 76
Ft. Washakie – 16 22 8 24 – 70
St. Stephen’s – Stephan Lonedog 2-2 2, Perrion Buffalo 1 6-8 8, Mathew SunRhodes 1 2-2 4, Johnny Roberts 1 2-2 4, SunRay Lopez 1 0-0 2, Jamonte Roberts 3 (1) 7-12 16, Tristan Monroe 5 3-4 14, Clifton Monroe (3) 4-5 13, Mason Ridgley 1 0-0 2, Tyson Whiteplume 2 (2) 0-0 10. Totals 16 (6) 26-35 76
Fort Washakie – Johnson Roanhorse 2 3-4 7, Tilden Tillman 3 (1) 2-3 11, Jonah Hill 1 (2) 2-3 10, Ty Hereford 5 (2) 4-4 20, Dandre Vasquez 2 3-10 5 7, Michael Arthur 1 0-2 2, Quincy Teichert 2 (2) 3-4 13. Totals 16 (7) 17-23 70