LHS boys hoops headed to state; girls conclude season
Mar. 5—LARAMIE — The Laramie High basketball teams took care of business by advancing to the semifinals during the opening day of the Class 4A East Regional Basketball Tournaments in Casper.
The boys and girls tournaments were hosted by Natrona County High at Mustang Athletic Center and Jerry Dalton Gym. The format to qualify for next week's state tournament was double-elimination with the four remaining teams that advanced to the championship and third-place games.
The Plainsmen, the No. 3 seed from the Southeast quadrant, opened with a 55-41 win on Thursday against Northeast No. 2 Sheridan.
Laramie took advantage of a balanced offense with three players scoring in double figures, led by Levi Brown (14), Neil Summers (13) and Max Alexander (12). The Plainsmen, which outscored the Broncs 20-9 in the fourth quarter, were a combined 15 of 22 from the free-throw line while Sheridan was 8 of 10. Both teams made two 3-pointers, and the Plainsmen cashed in on 17 field goals inside the arc with Sheridan making 14.
The LHS boys then lost to Southeast No. 1 Cheyenne East 56-41 on Friday to move into the consolation bracket. The Plainsmen rebounded Saturday morning with a close 47-44 victory against Southeast No. 2 Cheyenne Central to advance to the third-place game and earn a ticket to the state tournament. It is the first time since 2016 the Plainsmen will be playing at state.
Down 25-21 at halftime, the Plainsmen came out of the break to outscore the Indians 16-9 in the third quarter, which proved to be the difference after each team scored 10 in the fourth. Laramie was led by Summers' 14 points with Brown chipping in 11. LHS also made six 3-pointers to go with 12 2-pointers. Central had 14 field goals inside and three from outside.
Laramie then claimed third place with another close contest with a 61-58 win against Northeast No. 4 Campbell County in both team's second game on Saturday.
The Plainsmen rallied again, this time down 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter. LHS closed the contest outscoring the Camels 21-13 in the final period.
Summers and Brayden McKinney led LHS with 15 points each, followed by Brown with 13 and Jaden Smith was nearly the fourth in double figures with nine — seven of those from the free-throw line.
Laramie had to overcome 11 3-pointers made by Campbell County to go with nine other field goals. The Plainsmen made good from inside with 16 field goals in addition to four treys from outside.
By going 3-1 in the tourney, the Plainsmen improved to 13-13 overall after going 2-4 in Southeast play during the season.
The Lady Plainsmen, a Southeast No. 3 seed, also had a successful first day at regionals with a 63-51 win against Northeast No. 2 Campbell County. The LHS girls then lost to Southeast No. 1 Cheyenne East 58-46 on Friday in the semifinals and to Northeast No. 3 Sheridan 63-54 on Saturday morning in the consolation semifinals.
The LHS girls ended their season with a 17-8 overall record while going 3-3 in Southeast action.
Additional information from the Lady Plainsmen games was not provided to WyoSports/Laramie Boomerang.
