2021 2A Boys Basketball Championship: Big Piney Vs. Rocky Mt.

A year ago, Rocky Mountain lost in the first round to Sundance in the 2A State Tournament and the Grizzlies had serious state championship hopes. This team had serious state championship hopes this season and used their not-so-pleasant experience in 2020 as motivation for this season. It wasn't easy but the Grizz won their first state title since 1998 with a 53-42 overtime win over Big Piney on Saturday in Casper. It was a one-point game at halftime and Rocky outscored Big Piney by 7 in the 3rd quarter but the Punchers rallied in the 4th quarter to force overtime. The Grizzlies outscored Big Piney 11-0 in the extra session and hit a ton of big free throws to seal the deal.

This Rocky Mountain team was filled with talented seniors so they got something from just about everybody. Taylor Winland who is a major force in the post had 10 points, guard Jess Wambeke had 9 but the hero was Zach Simmons who threw in a game-high 15. He hit a couple of 3's and was 7-8 from the free-throw line. Let's not forget Tyler Banks who corralled 10 rebounds. The Grizzlies won a state title for the first time since 1998 and finished 20-3 this season.

Big Piney had quite a run in the state tournament and they knocked off a one-loss Sundance team in the semi-finals. The Punchers had one guy in double figures as Edwin Gonzoles tossed in 11 and Kaden Raza added 8. Big Piney was looking for their 1st state championship in boys basketball and went back to 2A this season after spending the last couple of seasons in 3A. They did qualify for last year's state tournament but it was canceled due to the pandemic. They wrapped up the season at 17-5.

Take a look at some of the video highlights from Saturday's game in Casper. Enjoy!

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