Trailblazers punch ticket for state

Erick Starkey
Posted 3/8/17

The Torrington Trailblazers went 2-2 at the 3A East Regional tournament in Buffalo on March 2-4 on their way to a fourth-place finish, earning them a spot in the state tournament.

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Trailblazers punch ticket for state

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BUFFALO – The Torrington Trailblazers went 2-2 at the 3A East Regional tournament in Buffalo on March 2-4 on their way to a fourth-place finish, earning them a spot in the state tournament.

Buffalo 46, Torrington 41
The Blazers got off to a slow start against the Bison, falling behind 18-4 after the first frame against the host team. Torrington outscored Buffalo 21-5 in the second to take a 25-23 lead heading into intermission. Buffalo put up 10 in the third compared to Torrington’s eight to tie the game up at 33 heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter proved to be the difference, with the Bison pouring in five more points than Torrington.
“It was a great atmosphere; in Buffalo against Buffalo and it made it kind of a tough draw,” coach Neil Baker said. “They were incredibly physical and we were right with them and had a lead late in the third quarter. Then we just had a hard time scoring down the stretch.”
Jordan Malm was the leading scorer against the Bison, racking up 10 points. He shot 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and knocked down two shots from inside the arc.
Tyler Ring chipped in seven points for the Blazers, while Breyden Bivens and Bo Moorehouse each contributed six.

Torrington 89, Newcastle 50
Torrington came out hot against the Dogies, pouring in 25 points in the first quarter to hold an eight-point advantage. By halftime, Torrington led Newcastle 48-27. The Blazers racked up 31 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth, while the Dogies amassed 23 over the final two frames.

“Everything went well. Everyone played so well, shots fell, we ran the floor and we found the open guy,” Baker said. “When everyone plays well and the shots go in the game is pretty easy but that rarely happens with everyone in the same game.”
Malm was the star of the game, racking up 33 points. He knocked down four three-pointers and all seven of his free throw attempts.
Ring poured in 22 points on his own on eight shots from inside the arc and 6-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe. Bivens joined Malm and Ring in double-figures, contributing 10 points for the Blazers.

Torrington 48, Wheatland 46
For the second straight game, Torrington jumped out to another early lead, holding a 17-5 advantage over the Bulldogs after the first quarter. By halftime, Wheatland narrowed the margin to 10, with a halftime score of 30-20. Heading into the fourth, Torrington was up 41-32.
With 5:38 to go in the loser out game, Torrington clung to a 42-36 lead. Wheatland cut into that lead and trailed by one point, but the Blazers rushed back to a 46-41 lead with 2:51 remaining. The Blazers had the ball with 52.3 seconds remaining and the game tied at 46. Torrington managed to keep the ball for most of the remaining seconds, with Ring converting on a jumper from the elbow to put the Blazers up 48-46 with 2.6 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Ring got the steal to seal the win.
“It was more stressful than I would have liked it, but it made for some great memories for the kids and for Tyler especially,” Baker said.
Nathan Stitt led the Blazers in scoring, amassing 11 points. Malm racked up 10 points in the win, while Bryan Lemmon and Ring each chipped in eight. Lemmon nailed Torrington’s only two three-pointers.
The win over Wheatland put the Blazers in the state tournament for the first time since 2012.

Rawlins 42, Torrington 40
“That third-place game is always such a struggle because everyone’s exhausted. It’s your fourth game in three days,” Baker said.
The Outlaws and Blazers were tied at nine in the first frame of the third-place game, but Rawlins pulled out to a 14-10 lead by the end of the quarter. Torrington regained the lead in the second quarter and added four points of separation, with the score at intermission being 25-21.
After the break, Torrington gave up some of their lead, with the score sitting at 35-34 in Torrington’s favor heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. Rawlins took the lead away from Torrington and managed to hold on for the two-point victory.
Ring was the top scorer for Torrington in the loss, accounting for 13 points. He nailed five shots from inside the arc and went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Stitt, Malm and Moorehouse added six points apiece for Torrington in the third-place game.
“That game was supposed to be really important because we were trying to avoid Riverton in the first round but then Riverton got beat so it worked out pretty nicely for us with Riverton and Douglas on the other side of the bracket,” Baker said.
Finishing fourth at the regional tournament puts the Blazers as the fourth seed out of the east for the state tournament. The 14-9 Blazers will take on Lyman in opening round action on Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Casper Events Center.