GILLETTE – The Southeast Cyclones made it three games into the regional tournament before being eliminated, finishing one win away from qualifying for the state tournament.
The Cyclones opened the weekend in Gillette as the fourth seed from the southeast conference. They fell to Pine Bluffs 71-44 and dropped to the consolation round, where they beat Glenrock 51-37. Southeast eliminated the Herders and advanced. The Cyclones’ weekend ended with a loss to Wright, 66-35.

Big Horn 71, Southeast 44
The Cyclones got off to a slow start against Big Horn to open up the tournament. Southeast scored eight points in the first quarter and six in the second to face a 31-14 deficit at intermission. In the third, Big Horn put up 26 points to Southeast’s 14. The Cyclones did outscore the Rams in the fourth quarter, 16-14, but it was too late.
Jacob Schmitt had a big day scoring the ball, racking up 16 points to lead all scorers. He shot 8-of-13 from the field and added a rebound and steal to his stat line.
Chance Werner, Dalton Keller and Brady Fullmer were the only Cyclones to hit a three-pointer, knocking down one apiece. Werner racked up nine points, three assists and led Southeast with six rebounds. Keller and Fullmer combined for 13 points, five boards, three assists and a steal. Fullmer had the team’s only two blocks. Connor Huphrey was not able to score, but he did amass two rebounds, three steals and a team-high six assists.
In the losing effort, Southeast shot 39 percent from the field. They put up 15 three-pointer, knocking down only three. The Rams shot 65 percent from the field. Big Horn also came down with 24 boards, compared to Southeast’s 18.

Southeast 51, Glenrock 37
In the Cyclones’ only win in Gillette, they jumped out to an early lead over the Herders, holding a 14-8 advantage after the first quarter. Southeast grew that lead to 28-16 by the halftime horn. The Cyclones put up another 27 points in the second half to Glenrock’s 21 to cruise to the win.
Chance Werner and Schmitt were the top-scorers for Southeast. Chance Werner poured in 14 points, eight of which came from the free-throw line and six came from behind the arc. He added five boards and a team-high three steals to his stat line. Schmitt contributed 13 points for Southeast, paired with five rebounds, an assist, two steals and two blocks.
Fullmer chipped in nine points, three boards and two assists, while Keller added six points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sterling Werner rounded out the leading scorers for Southeast, racking up four points.
In the win, Southeast nailed 41 percent of their shots and 36 percent of their shots from behind the arc. The Cyclones were sent to the charity stripe 27 times, knocking down 17 of their attempts. The Herders were only able to hit 35 percent of their shots and 26 percent from behind the arc.

Wright 66, Southeast 35
The Cyclones struggled to knock down their shots in their game against Wright. In the loss, Southeast shot 22 percent from the field, 11 percent from three-point land and 54 percent from the free-throw line.
After the first frame, The Cyclones were down only 12-10, but Wright pulled out to a 28-19 by intermission. In both the third and fourth quarters, Wright poured in 19 points to Southeast’s combined 16 points between the two frames.
Schmitt amassed 12 points in the loss to Wright, with six of his points coming from the charity stripe. He added three rebounds to his stat line. Keller poured in seven points for the Cyclones to go along with four boards, two assists and a steal.
Sterling and Chance Werner combined for 11 points. Chance Werner led Southeast in boards, with six, and steals, with three. Sterling Werner had three rebounds and two steals against Wright.
Fullmer and Humphrey rounded out the starters for Southeast, combining for four points, six boards, an assist, a steal and a block.
The Cyclones closed out the season with a 12-13 record and a 3-5 record against conference foes.