Highlights of the Thursday, December 29th boys basketball game between #1 Wind River and #5 Wyoming Indian.

Watch the highlights of the game!

 

 

Now this is what I call a full house! It was hard to find an empty seat, but considering that it’s a basketball game in Ethete…this is normal!

Number 1 Wind River at Number 5 Wyoming Indian…first quarter…Wyoming Indian wearing the white…John Soundingsides drives right the lane like no one was there…that got the scoring started…Cheifs lead 2-to-nothing.

This game had a lot of offensive fireworks, but the defense would snuff out a few here and there…Tyson Lone Bear…oh my goodness! That was a swat! Wind River has been announcing their presence to the state all season so far!

Let’s get back to the offense…you’ll see a lot of this both sides…Roger Wagon…roger roger for 3…23 points for the junior…the Cougars take a 3-2 lead…but that did not last long…Joseph Howell will fake one defender and score the first 2 of his 16 points and the Chiefs go back up 4-to-3.

A lot of players got in on the act in the game…Ward Gordon with a long ball…and it’s been a few years since the last time the team from Pavillion was this good…they lead 6-to-4.

This is the championship game of the Fremont County Shootout…and it’s also a non-conference game between the 2A southwest division rivals…Alvin Spoonhunter strikes for 3 of his 27 and WIHS is only down 8-to-7.

The Chiefs were on the warpath early on…the first shot won’t go but Joey Aragen’s putbuck will drop…the score is knotted up at 12, but we’re just getting started!

Skipping ahead a little bit…Wyoming Indian is trying their new floor this season…and so far they like it…especially Spoonhunter…because the sophomore can shoot 3’s with the best of them…and his team goes up 20-to-12.

Sometimes…you just got to throw the ball up there and rely on your skill to get it in the hoop…that’s what Soundingsides did on this play…29 points for the senior…and the home team is up 23-to-12 at this point.

I don’t know what the Chiefs’ shooting percentage was in this game…but it was pretty good…Spoonhunter swishes one from the free throw line…and his team was looking good, up 26-to-15 after the first 8 minutes.

2nd quarter…they’d keep the pressure on for a little while…it took a couple of tries but Soundingsides finally got the 2 points for his team…and they were in command up 29-to-16…but Soundingsides was not done…he’ll get himself a back-court steal and an even bigger prize…5 points in 5 seconds…and that would finish off a 22-to-4 run for WIHS…who now have the scored doubled up at 32-to-16.

But then Wind River would get to work and make a 16-point deficit look like nothing…Wagon is hiding behind the crowd…but we saw him…and everyone saw that 3…however the boys in black still had work to do, trailing 32-to-21.

Let’s get someone else in here…this is Jesse Brown for the Cougars…and what can Brown do for you??? Well 2 points is good for starters…16 points in this game for the senior…his team is still down 32-23.

The visitors were on the prowl…and Lone Bear was ready to pounce and he would big time on this 3…they’re starting to get closer…the scoreboard reads 34-to-26.

Wind River also has a new coach and the team has responded…Wagon’s firing from N-B-A range…and the wheels are staying on this team…the deficit is down to 5…it’s a 34-to-29 ball game right now.

Here comes more…this time it’s 3 the old fashioned way…Lone Bear with the hoop, the whistle and the spill…he would convert and his team is right back in this game, down 36-34.

Wyoming Indian was not too pleased with what was going on and tried to respond…Soundingsides would relieve the pressure a little bit with that long ball…that made the score 39-to-34.

But the opposition just kept on coming…Wagon…3…got it…Wind River’s shooting numbers were pretty good as well and they trail 39-37.

They were fighting fire with fire and it was working…Wagon with another gas can…boom!The Cougars were breathing down their arch-rivals neck…it’s 41-to-40.

They were not done…not by a long shot….but Brown is putting up a long shot of his own…Wind River was feeling it and would close the half with a 34-to-10 run…and led 50-to-42 going into the locker room.

I told you there was not many empty seats available…but when you got a good game going on…who needs a seat?

3rd quarter…the boys in black kept trying to pour it on…Gordon takes the assist and deposits another 2 points…to give his team a 9 point cushion…54-to-45.

WIHS needed a new plan of attack and they would get on it…the first shot won’t go, but Wilson Clifford was there to clean up the mess and put it away…Cheifs still down 54-to-47.

Later…the inside game was starting to pay dividens…Howell gets the offensive board and putback…it did not take long for the Chiefs to get within 1 point…trailing 56-to-55.

We need something a little different in these highlights…Soundingsides….and…well…forget I said that. Let’s just go back to the original plan…it was getting the job done.

Moving ahead…you can tell some-what that the crowd was starting to get into this game…Aragen takes advantage of the turnover and gets the finish…and last year’s 2A state runnerups are back in the lead…up 58-to-56.

Of course getting the lead is one thing…hanging onto it, is something else, as both teams have learned…Spoonhunter finds 3 more and the Chiefs have found their rhythm, up 64-to-58.

Both teams were trying to step their game up in order to finish 20-11 on a good note…but sometimes they over-did it…Soundingsides misses the dunk…and the putback try is no good either…Wind River would take advantage of the situation…Wagon with another 3 and he’ll nail it…lucky for his team they were only down by 4…65-to-61.

The visitors were still hanging around…Wagon….Again….from wayyyy down-town…he had the hot hand…the Cougars were keeping pace, down 67-to-66.

But the Chiefs were able to hold the opposition at bay for awhile…Soundingsides is at the top of the key…and he’ll open the door for 3…that made the score 71-66.

But the 3-point parade was just getting started for the home team…Aragan is open in the corner…and he’s causing trouble...and the fans could sense it…WIHS is up 74-66.

Wyoming Indian was doing no wrong at this point and they were shooting lights out…Aragen…check it out and ring it up…the home team has re-established that double-digit lead and were up 77-to-66, going into the final 8 minutes.

4th quarter…the Chiefs just kept doing their thing because they were in control…Aragen lights up another one…and things are starting to get out of hand with the score at 82-to-66.

If you have not figured out by now…WIHS was on a run…and so was Clifford on this play…this fast-break lay-in would polish off a 17-zip spurt to push the score up to 84-66.

Wind River gave it a good effort…but it was becoming obvious that they were not going to win this battle…but Lone Bear would serve notice that the war is far from over…the 2 teams still have to play at least 2 more times this season.

Round 1 would go to the Chiefs but they were still thirsty for a few more points…nice ball movement as Howell will get the finish…that got the score into the 90’s and they were going for the century mark.

They still had a little time left and 1 more 3 left in them…courtesy of Soundingsides, but coach would sub in the JV’s before WIHS could reach one-hundred…Chiefs fans were chanting for a new number 1 ranked team…maybe…maybe…final score…98-to-79.

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