NEWCASTLE – The No. 3-seeded Torrington High School boys’ basketball team pulled off a pair of upsets to reach the 3A East Regional Championship games over the weekend in Newcastle to qualify for the state tournament this weekend in Casper.
On Thursday, the Blazers had a trio of players crack double figures in the scoring column in a 53-50 win over the No. 2 seeded Douglas Bearcats in the season’s rubber match.
Senior Jackson Jones led Torrington with 21 points, while senior Cameron Murphy added 11. Sophomore Kieser Wolfe tossed in 10.
The win advanced the Blazers to the semifinal round against the top-seeded Wheatland Bulldogs.
The three previous meetings between the two teams, went in the Bulldogs favor, but this time, the 45-39 win went to Torrington.
Wheatland grabbed a 14-8 lead after a quarter, but the momentum began to shift in the second quarter.
The Blazer defense held the Bulldogs to only two points in the second quarter, tying the game at 16 going into the locker room.
Coming out of the break, Torrington outscored Wheatland 29-23 to pull away for the win.
Jones led the Blazers with 18 points, while senior Sam Firminhac tossed in 11.
In the championship match, the Blazers met up with another Southeast Quadrant foe in Rawlins.
Torrington nearly matched the Outlaws through eight minutes of play, trailing 15-14, but Rawlins started pulling away in the second quarter.
The Outlaws outscored the Blazers 19-12 to take a 34-26 lead into half.
In the second half, Torrington couldn’t make up any ground in the 58-49 loss.
Firminhac led the Blazers with 16 points, while Jones added 14. Wolfe had seven.
Torrington (9-13) heads to the Wyoming 3A State Tournament on Thursday as the No. 2 seed and will face Big Piney (18-7) at noon at the Casper Events Center.
