Huskies fall to Upton, Cokeville at state tournament

The Huskies ended their basketball season in Casper this past weekend, losing to Upton 69-32 and Cokeville 65-49.  They finished the season at 18-8 overall and went undefeated in conference play.

“We are proud of how they played down at state,” said Coach Kirby Winland. “We got a pretty tough draw for going in as the third seed. Upton, who was ranked No. 1 all year, got upset at regionals and we ended up playing them in the first round and then Cokeville getting upset meant that we played essentially two No. 1-ranked teams. 

“With that being said, our boys played hard and finished the year strong.” 

Upton was up first for the Huskies on Thursday. Burlington struggled with its shooting percentage, averaging 22.4% from the field versus Upton’s 48.1%. This led to a steady stream of points for the Bobcats. Burlington did out rebound Upton 37-36 but Upton scored 28 points off of Burlington’s turnovers.

Weston Gotfredson led the team with nine points and nine rebounds. Rykael Andrew and Joe Bassett each added five points.

The loss sent the Huskies to the consolation bracket, where they faced Cokeville. The first two quarters of the game were back and forth. Cokeville jumped out to a quick five-point lead, but the Huskies answered with a run of their own and led by one point. They were tied at 9 and again at 13 and ended the quarter with Cokeville up 15-13. The second quarter was more of the same with lead changes and ties. Overall the game had six lead changes and six ties, all in the first half, but Cokeville found some rhythm late in the second and went into halftime up 40-26.

Burlington was plagued with turnovers and Cokeville capitalized on them, earning 27 points off Burlington’s 24 turnovers. Burlington once again led in rebounding 35-26 and made a comeback in the fourth quarter scoring 18 points to Cokeville’s nine, but they could not top the Panthers. 

Andrew had a big game, earning a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Gotfredson was not far behind with 14 points and eight rebounds. “I thought we did a great job of playing with both Upton and Cokeville in the first quarters of both games, but as we fatigued, our discipline and fundamental skills started to break down,” said Winland. “Bad passes, dribbling off our own feet and missed layup opportunities compounded in both games leading to blowouts by the fourth quarter.”

Winland is looking to the future and the state of 1A basketball. “Hopefully our young kids can see what needs to happen in order to become not just a team that makes it to state but contenders for the championship,” said Winland. “1A basketball isn’t getting any smaller. Teams like Lingle, Upton and Lusk aren’t going anywhere. This year we have 24 1A schools with a projection of adding five more next reclassification. While those numbers can fluctuate and aren’t a hard science, what we need to understand as a program and community, is that we need to spend more time in the gym if our expectations are to be state contenders. 

“That time can’t just be playing 5 on 5 and 1 on 1. The best teams at the state tournament were the most fundamentally sound teams that could shoot, pass and dribble with high levels of proficiency regardless of pressure and fatigue. So here’s to this summer, in the hopes of becoming what we desire, state champs!”

Upton         18 18 17 16 – 69

Burlington  10   9   9   4 – 32 

BURLINGTON – Casey 2-5 0-0 5, Andrew 1-6 3-7 5, H. McNiven 2-2 0-0 4, Philpott 1-6 0-0 2, Bassett 2-6 0-0 5, Tempany 1-2 0-0 2, Gotfredson 2-6 5-6 9. Totals 11-49 8-15 32. 

3-POINT GOALS – Casey 1, Bassett 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 37 (Gotfredson 9). STEALS – Burlington 8 (Andrew 2). ASSISTS – Burlington 6 (Perez 2). TURNOVERS – Burlington 21. 

Cokeville   15  25 16  9 – 65

Burlington 13  13   5 18 – 49 

BURLINGTON – Andrew 6-15 0-1 14, P. McNiven 2-5 0-0 4, Haslam 1-1 0-0 3, H. McNiven 1-1 0-0 3, Philpott 1-4 1-2 4, Bassett 2-7 0-0 5, B. McNiven 1-3 0-0 2, Gotfredson 5-10 4-4 14. Totals 19-51 5-7 49. 

3-POINT GOALS – Andrew 2, Haslam 1, H. McNiven 1, Philpott 1, Bassett 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 35 (Andrew 10, Gotfredson 8). STEALS – Burlington 4. ASSISTS – Burlington 4. TURNOVERS – Burlington 24.