East boys outlast Scottsbluff

Matthew Atencio, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
·2 min read

Jan. 15—SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — Cheyenne East held on to pick up a 52-48 win at Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on Saturday.

The T-Birds got off to a slow start and fell behind by six after the first quarter. After losing the previous night on a last-second field goal at Cheyenne Central, Scottsbluff came out hot and scored 20 opening frame points.

But East punched right back and controlled the second frame. While the offense continued to have some struggles, the T-Birds played suffocating defense in the second and outscored the Bearcats 10-4 in the second frame and took a 24-24 tie into halftime.

The teams continued to battle through the third quarter, with neither team really able to separate. But in the end, East held a one-point lead heading into the final frame.

Things did not go great for the T-Birds to start the fourth quarter. East went cold for a short stretch in the final frame, and allowed Scottsbluff to jump out to a 46-43 lead. But the team came alive late with some big shots from Nathan Mirich, Drew Jackson and Garet Schlabs. Their efforts helped East outscore the Bearcats 9-2 down the stretch.

In the end, two big defensive plays by the T-Birds prevent any comeback by the Bearcats. With five seconds left, East stole the ball and got it up the court to Jackson, who proceeded to run the rest of the clock out.

"I was really proud of the team for stepping up and hitting shots in the end," East coach Rusty Horsley said. "We played really good defense throughout and that what was able to keep us in it.

"We were strong with the basketball and did some good things."

Jackson and Mirich led the T-Birds offensively, posting a pair of 17-point games. Colter McAnelly finished in double digits as well, posting 10 points on the day. Schlabs finished the game with six points, all of which came in the second half.

EAST 52, SCOTTSBLUFF 48

Cheyenne East....... 14 10 17 11 — 52

Scottsbluff...... 20 4 16 8 — 48

Cheyenne East: Jackson 17, Mirich 17, McAnelly 10, Schlabs 6, Bohlmann 2, Rayl 0, Lissman 0, Hayes 0, Jolley 0.

Scottsbluff: Reisig 0, Harris 11, Kelley 9, Talkington 15, Mickey 10, Klein 3.

Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MattAtencio5.