Rebels go 0-4 at Big Horn Basin Classic

The Riverside Rebels are ready to begin the conference portion of their 2023-24 schedule after a tough stretch of games against 2A and 3A opponents at last weekend’s Big Horn Basin Hoops Classic.

The Rebels had a challenging draw. They were lined up to face Lovell, the No. 3 ranked team in 3A, and Worland on Friday before meeting Wyoming Indian, No. 4 in 2A, and Rocky Mountain on Saturday. 

They dropped all four, falling to the Bulldogs 61-21, the Warriors 67-45, the Chiefs 80-54 and the Grizzlies, 49-45.

Coach Scott Winters couldn’t find a lot of positives in his team’s performance against Lovell. The Bulldogs threw a press at the Rebels.  “We initially did OK breaking it and got some baskets early on, but it started to affect us mentally as the game went on and we weren’t able to regain our composure,” he said. “We struggled to score and turned the ball over too much. 

“Lovell is a disciplined team and has a high basketball IQ, so they don’t make a lot of mistakes and we did.”

Hayden Paxton was the only Rebel in double figures with 10 points.

The Rebels showed some encouraging signs in their second game.  While they got off to another sluggish start and did not finish well, the Rebels played the Warriors evenly in quarters two and three, when they were outscored by just a single point (30-29). 

“It was good to see Hayden and Wyatt get some things going for us offensively,” said Winters, referring to Paxton, who led with 15 points, and Daly-Patterson, who chipped in eight. “We were glad we were able to compete in this game even though we lost by a lot. We continued to work and I felt like we were more mentally tough than we had been against Lovell.”

Winters called the Wyoming Indian game “a good experience” for his team. “They play a similar style that we like to play, so for me it’s always fun to play them,” he said. “They pressed us most of the game and we turned it over way too much but it was a good experience for us. 

“Our goal was to have a positive attitude throughout and I thought we did a decent job of that. It is easy to get frustrated when you are turning the ball over, but we didn’t give up and were able to go on a run at the end of the third and throughout the fourth quarter.”

Paxton “was effective getting to the basket and had one of his best offensive games of the season” with 29 points.  Kozisek “was finally able to find his rhythm in this game offensively” and finished with 13. 

The Rebels closed tournament play with a matchup against Rocky Mountain.  Winters said his team started well, generating turnovers with its press, but “ran out of gas” as Rocky went on an 8-2 run to close out the first and then outscored the Rebels 20-8 in the second to take a 16-point halftime lead.

The Rebels outscored the Grizzlies 26-14 in the second half, but came up four points short. 

“We did a much better job defensively shutting down their top scorers and we had much better ball movement on the offensive end and were able to score,” said Winters. “I think if we had a shot clock or 3 more minutes we could have pulled out the win. Rocky started stalling in the fourth when we had the momentum and we had to start fouling.”

The Rebels host Meeteetse today (Thursday, Jan. 18) and travel to Dubois Saturday.  

“I told the boys that it is a new season this week with conference games starting, so hopefully we can have good practices and bring intensity and focus to every practice,” said Winters.

The Riverside JV is scheduled to play Fort Washakie on Friday.

Lovell 20 24 12 5 — 61

Riverside 10   2   2 7 — 21

RIVERSIDE — Josh Wildman 2-5 2-4 7, Hyson Hill 0-1 0-0 0, HAyden Paxton 1-9 7-10 10, Gavyn Cervantes 0-2 0-0 0, Avery Clifford 0-2 0-0 0, Wyatt Daly-Patterson 1-1 0-2  2, Ryder Kozisek 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 5-of-22 9-of-16 21. 

3-POINT GOALS —WIldman, Paxton.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 22 (Paxton 6).  STEALS — Riverside 1.  ASSISTS — Riverside 4 (Wildman 2).  TURNOVERS – Riverside 24.

Worland 19 17 13 18 — 67

Riverside   9 17 12   7 — 45

RIVERSIDE — Wildman 2-6 2-2 7, Hill 1-4 2-2 5, Paxton 7-16 0-0 15, Cervantes 1-1 0-0 2, Clifford 1-1 0-0 2, Daly-Patterson 4-5 0-2 8, Kozisek 2-14 0-4 6.  Totals 18-47 4-6 45.

3-POINT GOALS — Kozisek 2, Paxton, Hill, Wildman.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 27 (Paxton 11). STEALS — Riverside 6 (Wildman, Kozisek 2).  ASSISTS — Riverside 8 (Wildman 4).  TURNOVERS — Riverside 21.

Wyo Indian 28 18 23 11 — 80

Riverside 12   6 14 22 — 54

RIVERSIDE — Wildman 2-6 0-0 4, Hill 0-6 3-4 3, Paxton 9-18 6-6 26, Clifford 3-5 1-3 7, Daly-Patterson 0-1 1-2 1, Kozisek 4-12 1-2 13. Totals 18-43 12-19 54.

3-POINT GOALS — Kozisek 4, Paxton 2.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 23 (Clifford 9).  STEALS — Riverside 12 (Wildman, Hill 4).  ASSISTS — Riverside 13 (Hill 4).  TURNOVERS — Riverside 32.

Rocky Mt. 15 20   8   6 — 49

Riverside 11   8 12 14 — 45

3-POINT GOALS — Wildman 2, Kozisek 2, Hill, Paxton.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 29 (Paxton 11).  STEALS — Riverside 11.  ASSISTS — Riverside 9 (Hill 4).  TURNOVERS — Riverside 19.