WORLAND – The second-ranked Torrington Trailblazers boys’ basketball team fell behind early and could not catch up in a loss on the road to fourth-ranked Worland on Friday, 58-47.
“We got off to a terrible start and were behind by 20 at the end of the first,” coach Neil Baker said. “We had poor intensity during the week in practice, so our slow start wasn’t too surprising. The loss will be a good lesson if we learn from it and increase our toughness and work ethic in practice.”
Despite the slow start, Torrington had two players in double-figures. Jordan Malm was the leading scorer for the Blazers, with 22 points. He also added five boards. Tyler Ring was the second Blazer in double-digits, with 10 points to go along with five rebounds.
Nathan Stitt was the third-highest scorer for Torrington, with six points and he also had four boards. Bryan Lemmon and Breyden Bivens each contributed three boards.
Seven different Blazers scored in the losing effort.
“After the first quarter, we played better and made a run,” Baker said. “We really struggled to shoot from the perimeter and didn’t rebound well.”
Torrington 66, Thermopolis 59
Following the loss on Friday, Torrington bounced back with three Blazers in double-figures in a win over Thermopolis on the road Saturday, 66-59.
“Thermopolis was a good test for us to see if we could respond after a tough loss the night before,” Baker said.
For the second game in as many days, Malm was the leading scorer, with 19 points, which he paired with five rebounds. Lemmon, with 13, and Ring, with 12, rounded out the top-scorers for Torrington. Ring led the Blazers in boards, with eight, while Lemmon added three.
“The Bobcats shot the ball well and we allowed way too many offensive possessions by getting a rebound,” Baker said. “Scoring 66 points is a good offensive outing, but we need to finish possessions by getting a rebound. Bryan Lemmon stepped up and hit some big shots, as did Bo Moorehouse, Bivens and Johnson.”
Moorehouse, Bivens and Ryan Johnson combined for 19 points. Bivens led the way out of the trio with seven points. Stitt recorded four boards and a team-high seven rebounds.
