TORRINGTON – With regional basketball tournaments coming at the end of February, it’s a good time to take a step back and see how the three area boys teams stack up.
Torrington
Record: 10-5 (3-0)
WyoPreps rank: No. 4 in 3A
The Torrington boys’ basketball team’s 10-5 record this winter ties them for the third best record in 3A. The Blazers are the only team in their quadrant with a 3-0 record.
The Blazers started the season 3-1, with their only loss coming to Lander on Dec. 16. They finished 2016 with five wins, one win more than they had all last winter.
After the calendar turned to the new year, Torrington started 3-2, with losses to top-ranked Riverton and Gering, Neb. The Blazers hosted Douglas on Jan. 27 in a No. 2 vs. No. 3 match up and Torrington came out with the one-point win, 52-51. Following the win against the Bearcats, the Blazers lost to Worland and then beat Thermopolis.
Jordan Malm, who averages 18.6 points per game, leads the Blazers in scoring. He sits second in 3A in points per game, only behind Pinedale’s Garrett Lozier (20.9 PPG). Malm’s 5.5 boards per game also leads Torrington. He ranks seventh in the east in rebounding. He rounds out his stat sheet with 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Tyler Ring (10.7 PPG), Bryan Lemmon (9.6 PPG) and Nathan Stitt (9.5 PPG) round out the top-scorers for the Blazers. Ring ties Malm for the top spot in rebounds, with 5.5 boards per game. He also has 11 blocks on the season. Stitt is atop the list of Blazers in assists (2.8 APG) and steals (2.4 SPG). He ranks seventh in the conference in assists and sixth in the conference and eighth in the state in steals.
Torrington’s 57.1 points per game ranks them sixth in 3A. The Blazers’ defense puts them at 14th in the class, as they allow 59.3 points per game.
Torrington’s regional tournament is in Buffalo on March 2-4 and they have five games remaining in their regular season. The Blazers have a rematch with the Bearcats in Douglas on Friday, before playing Newcastle Saturday. Their three remaining games are at home against Wheatland, Rawlins and Buffalo.
Southeast
Record: 10-8 (2-2)
WyoPreps rank: NR
The Southeast boys’ basketball team, with a 10-8 record, sits second in their quadrant with a 2-2 conference record, behind 2A’s top-ranked Pine Bluffs, who is 17-0 this winter.
After the first two weekends of the season, the Cyclones were 3-3 and they picked up a win just before the holiday break to have a 4-3 record heading into the new year. Southeast started 2017 with three losses, but then strung together three wins. Over the past five games, the Cyclones are 3-2. They fell to the Hornets on Feb. 3, after beating Glenrock, Mitchell, Neb. and cross-county rival Lingle-Fort Laramie.
Big Horn handed the Cyclones their biggest loss of the season on Jan. 6, 76-35, at the Southeast Invitational. Southeast’s widest margin of victory came over Tongue River the following day, 57-36. Four of the Cyclones’ wins have come by 10 or fewer points.
As a team, Southeast is 11th in 2A in points per game (36) but they rank second in the classification in points allowed (39.3). The Cyclones’ 27.4 rebounds per game rank them seventh in the eastern conference so far this winter.
Southeast’s low scoring output stems in large part from their low shooting percentage. They rank seventh in the conference in two-point field goal percentage (34.8), three-point field goal percentage (16) and total field goal percentage (31).
Jacob Schmitt is Southeast’s leading scorer, averaging 9 points per game. Brady Fullmer, with 8.6 points per game, and Chance Werner, with 8.5 points per game, follow closely behind Schmitt as the top scorers for the Cyclones. Schmitt ranks 15th in the conference in points per game, while Fullmer is 17th and Werner is 20th.
On the boards, Schmitt against makes his presence felt. He averages 5.7 boards to lead the Cyclones. Chance Werner chips in 5 rebounds a game and Sterling Werner comes off the bench and adds 4.9. All three of the leading rebounders for Southeast rank in the top-20 in the east.
Chance Werner averages 2.3 assists per game and Dalton Keller contributes another 2. Chance Werner also leads Southeast in steals, with 1.5 per game.
The Cyclones have four games left before the regional tournament in Gillette on Feb. 23-25. They play Lusk and Burns this Friday and Saturday, before playing Pine Bluffs and Glenrock in the final weekend of the regular season.
Lingle-Fort Laramie
Record: 11-5 (2-0)
WyoPreps rank: No. 4 in 1A
The Lingle-Fort Laramie boys’ basketball team got off to a hot start to the season. The Doggers won their first six games of the season. Crawford, Neb. was the first team to beat LFL and it came in the new year on Jan. 6. Since their first loss, the Doggers have lost to Southeast twice, Burns and Pine Bluffs.
In recent action, LFL beat Lusk, 55-36, on Feb. 3, lost to Southeast on Feb. 2, 42-27, and bested Morrill, Neb. 58-46.
The Doggers widest margin of victory was against Guernsey-Sunrise on Jan. 7, when they beat the Vikings 59-15. LFL’s worst loss came at the hands of 2A’s top-ranked Pine Bluffs on Jan. 28. The Hornets beat the Doggers, 72-31.
Justice Madayag put up the most points in a game by any Dogger when he poured in 22 against Snake River on Dec. 10. He has been the leading scorer in five of LFL’s games this winter. The senior is the leading scorer for LFL, with 9.5 points per game to his credit this season. He also averages 3.8 boards, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Garrett Cooper is LFL’s top rebounder, averaging 8.7 rebounds per game to pace the Doggers. His highest total is 17 boards against Shoshoni on Dec. 9. He is second on the team in scoring, with 8.5 points per game. Rounding out the stat sheet, Cooper leads LFL in assists (2 APG) and steals (2.3 SPG).
Ty Mueller has played in 12 games this season, ranking third on the team in scoring, with 8.2 points per game. He chips in 3.3 boards and 1.3 assists per game. Brandon Hill has seen the court in 14 games and averages 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Dallen Fleenor and Taylor Wagner round out the top contributors for LFL. The two combine for 10.6 points, 4.7 boards, 2.3 assists and 2 steals per game.
The Doggers’ team scoring (45.2 PPG) ranks 16th in 1A, but their defense is atop the classification’s standings. LFL allows only 41.6 points per game to lead 1A.
Cooper’s 8.7 boards per game ranks him fifth in the eastern conference and 10th in 1A in rebounding. Hill sits second in the east and fifth in the state in field goal percentage (61) and Madayag is second in the conference and ninth in the classification in free throw percentage (71).
The Doggers have four games remaining during the regular season. They play second-ranked Kaycee on Friday and Rock River Saturday. In the final weekend of regular season action, LFL takes on Burns and Pine Bluffs. The regional tournament is at Douglas on Feb. 23-25, with the state tournament the weekend after.
