BMS boys capture conference championship

Burlington Middle School’s A team wrapped up its boys basketball season in impressive fashion last weekend, winning its conference championship to improve to 9-2.

Twenty-one boys played this year for Burlington, which had high expectations coming off of last season’s success. 

“We were led by seven outstanding eighth graders that set an excellent example for our whole team,” said Coach Corey Bullinger. “We lost the last two regular season games to Greybull and Thermop within the last week. 

“They rallied together and came back stronger in the last three days of practice to prepare for our tournament in Thermopolis. Our team motto has been ‘Family Over Everything’ the past two years. These boys came together and prioritized winning as a whole rather than valuing individual successes and that’s what made this team great.” 

Burlington got a bye in the first round of the tournament, so the first game was against Greybull. “They have been this group of boys’ biggest competition since their sixth grade year. We were able to pull off an exciting win that morning to take us into the championship game versus the Thermopolis Bobcats. The championship game was a back-and-forth game until the end of regulation, when one of their boys made a three at the last second to send the game into overtime. In overtime, our boys took over and we ended up winning 55-49. It was a game that showed the grit that our boys have. It was one of the most exciting games I have ever been a part of. One of the coolest things was that the entire Greybull team and the entire Shoshoni team were there to cheer us on. It says a lot about the reputation of our boys on and off the court. We appreciated the support of our friends from other schools.” 

The C team won all three of its games at the jamboree in Shoshoni, which has the coaching staff optimistic for the future of Burlington Middle School basketball. “We will sure miss these eighth graders as they move onto high school, but we are lucky to have an outstanding bunch of boys from the other two grades that bring excitement, fun, hard work and respect that will help carry on the program we have been building,” ended Bullinger.