Huskies take third at State

The Huskies ended their basketball season with a 21-9 record, a 9-1 conference record and a third place finish at State. 

On Thursday, the first game was against Niobrara County (Lusk) and the Huskies knew they would have to be ready. “They are a tough, well coached team,” said Coach Dale Cook. Both teams came out strong and were tied after the first quarter, but Burlington pulled away in the second and third quarter and despite a strong showing from Lusk, the Huskies won 69-57. “The game went well, our defense was strong and we were shooting well. It was a well balanced game. Our defense has always been pretty good; we have breakdowns at times but it is our strong suit.” 

Bitner Philpott led the team with 21 points and four rebounds. Kellen Winters had 12 points and three steals and Paul McNiven had 11 points and three steals. 

The win pitted Burlington against Saratoga on Friday. “It was a defensive struggle and neither team shot very well. But it’s hard to get into a good rhythm on offense, when you’re up against a good defense. Turnovers were an issue for us, but it felt like a well matched game, it’s always that way with Saratoga. On a good day, I think we could have beat them.” 

The Huskies struggled from the field, shooting just 25.6% but outrebounded the Panthers 38-31. Burlington lost, 40-29. K. Winters led the team with eight points and five rebounds. Philpott had seven points and P. McNiven led in rebounding with eight boards and added one point. 

The loss sent Burlington to a match up on Saturday with Cokeville for third place. The Panthers jumped to a quick 16-4 lead, but the Huskies responded with six points of their own to finish out the first quarter. They settled in and held Cokeville to just five points in the second quarter.  “We knew it was going to be a battle. Our shots weren’t really falling and especially our 3’s weren’t falling, which isn’t normal, so we knew we’d have to do something different in the second half. We spent more time working hard in the paint and that’s what won us the game.” 

Burlington won 43-39. They outshot Cokeville from the field and outrebounded them 42-35. Philpot led the team with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals. K. Winters had eight points, Matt Tempany added eight points and six rebounds and M. James McNiven added eight points six rebounds, two steals and two assists. 

“We had lots of good things coming from our young kids and it was a positive tournament. It was a good way to end this building season for us. We are losing Paul McNiven and we will really miss him. Looking towards the future, we have a lot of young kids coming up and they usually fill the vacuum that somebody leaves and the future looks good for the Huskies,” said Cook. 

Niobrara County  13    9  12  23 – 57

Burlington            13  19  24  13 – 69 

BURLINGTON – P. McNiven 4-5 1-2 11, Philpott 8-14 3-6 21, K. Winters 5-7 2-4 12, Bassett 2-2 0-0 4, Walker 1-4 2-4 4, Tempany 2-4 3-4 7, M.J. McNiven 2-10 4-6 8, T. Winters 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-49 15-28 69. 

3-POINT GOALS – P. McNiven 2, Philpott 2. REBOUNDS – Burlington 33 (M.J. McNiven 6, Tempany 4, Philpott 4). STEALS – Burlington 12 (P. McNiven 3, K. Winters 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 7 (Walker 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 23. 

Saratoga   9   8  7  16 – 40

Burlington  7  9  6    7 – 29  

BURLINGTON – P. McNiven 0-6 1-3 1, Philpott 2-12 2-2 7, K. Winters 3-7 0-0 8, Bassett 1-4 0-0 2, Walker 1-6 0-0 2, Tempany 1-3 0-0 2, M.J. McNiven 2-4 1-2 5, T. Winters 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 11-43 4-9 29. 

3-POINT GOALS – K. Winters 2, Philpott 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 38 (P. McNiven 8, K. Winters 5, Tempany 4, M.J. McNiven 4). STEALS – Burlington 2. ASSISTS – Burlington 5. TURNOVERS – Burlington 16. 

Cokeville   16   5   9    9 –39 

Burlington 10  12  6  15 – 43 

BURLINGTON – P. McNiven 2-9 0-0 4, Philpott 4-14 2-2 10, K. Winters 4-8 0-0 8, Walker 1-5 1-2 3, Tempany 4-6 0-2 8, M.J. McNiven 2-5 4-6 8, T. Winters 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-50 7-12 43. 

REBOUNDS – Burlington 42 (P. McNiven 8, M.J. McNiven 6, Tempany 6, Philpott 5). STEALS – Burlington 8 (Philpott 4). ASSISTS – Burlington 7. TURNOVERS – Burlington 18.