Huskies lose two and win one in Powell

The Huskies saw tough competition at the Big Horn Classic tournament in Powell this past weekend. “It was a very competitive tournament this year,” said Coach Kirby Winland. “With several number one teams from the 2A and 3A classifications and several other top five teams, we were bound to play some very disciplined and well-oiled machines.”

Powell was first up for the Huskies. “It was a good first game for our athletes,” Winland said of the 80-42 loss. “The first six minutes of the game, I thought that we showed we could play with Powell, we were getting good looks inside and several shots close to the basket. Unfortunately, none of our shots went in. Without those early good looks, our confidence waned and we started to shy away from the physicality and intensity of the game. The rest of the game we continued to talk about consistently challenging our opponents and trying to impose our will rather than just deferring to theirs.”

Weston Gotfredson had 18 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Casey had four points and three assists.

Glenrock proved to be another difficult challenge and the Huskies lost, 80-50. “That game, we lost from the start. The first several minutes, we didn’t execute and control what we could control. We weren’t getting back on defense, giving up unlimited, uncontested layups and refusing to step in and stop the ball from penetrating the middle of the court. When we can’t do those two things as a team, we won’t win many games.”

Casey had 12 points and six rebounds and Rykael Andrew had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. 

The losses in pool play matched the Huskies up with Wind River on Saturday. “Our goal in the locker room was to ‘be the better team’ and we wanted to do this by changing the effort we were giving on defense and correcting the mistakes of the previous day. We ended up winning against Wind River but as a coaching staff, we are still concerned with our execution. Defensively, we still aren’t applying the foundational principles of our defense. It’s going to require some trust and hard work, but I still believe our boys can do it. Our ability to change our habits and apply our team principles will determine our success moving forward,” said Winland.

Gotfredson led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds, Jesus Perez had 13 points and three assists and Bruce McNiven had 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Huskies will host Ten Sleep on Friday night at 7 and St. Stephens on Saturday with JV at noon and varsity tip off at 3 p.m.

Powell  22  26  25  9 – 82

Burlington  14   7  15  4 – 40 

BURLINGTON – Casey 2-5 0-0 4, Andrew 3-8 0-2 6, Perez 1-3 0-0 2, Haslam 1-2 0-2 2, H. McNiven 2-6 0-0 4, B. McNiven 1-7 0-0 2, Tempany 1-3 0-0 2, Gotfredson 8-14 2-4 18. Totals 19-52 2-8 40. 

REBOUNDS – Burlington 24 (Gotfredson 7). STEALS – Burlington 3. ASSISTS – Burlington 6 (Casey 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 15. 

Glenrock    28  25  13  14 – 80

Burlington  11  15  12  12 – 50

BURLINGTON – Casey 5-5 2-4 12, Andrew 6-11 0-0 12, Wardell 1-5 2-5 4, Perez 1-6 0-0 3, H. McNiven 3-11 0-0 6, Philpott 3-6 0-1 7, Tempany 0-2 2-2 2, Gotfredson 2-8 0-2. TOTALS 21-58 6-14 50. 

3-POINT GOALS – Perez 1, Philpott 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 28 (Casey 6, Andrew 5). STEALS – Burlington 10 (Andrew, Perez 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 7 (Perez 2). TURNOVERS – Burlington 21. 

Windriver     8  15   4    9 – 36

Burlington  12  24 18  19 – 73 

BURLINGTON – Casey 4-7 0-2 9, Andrew 3-10 3-4 10, Wardell 2-5 0-0 4, Perez 5-10 2-2 13, Haslam 1-1 0-0 3, B. McNiven 4-9 2-2 11, Tempany 2-2 0-2 4, Gotfredson 7-10 5-5 19. Totals 28-56 12-17 73. 

3-POINT GOALS – Casey 1, Andrew 1, Haslam 1, B. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 34 (Gotfredson 9, B. McNiven 8). STEALS – Burlington 14 (B. McNiven 4, Casey 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 18 (Wardell 4, Andrew, Perez, B. McNiven 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 17.