March 11, 2021 |
Rawlins fought hard until time ran out, but fell to Mountain View 64-62 in opening round action of the 3A State Basketball Tournament in Casper.
The Outlaws and Buffaloes see-sawed back and forth in a game that saw six different ties and 11 lead changes. In the end, Mountain View’s Luke Branson was too much to contain. The 6’3″, 190-pound senior wearing number three scored 30 points before fouling out late in the 4th. The Outlaws were down by four at the half, but kept it close in the final two frames. The score was tied at 49-apiece with less than five minutes to play. The knot was 53-53 with three to go.
Branson did his best to squash the Rawlins comeback after Colton Ice put the Outlaws within one point with less than two minutes on the clock.
Jarred Anderson had the call on the NFHS Network. Rawlins was down by five with 24 seconds on the clock. Ashton Bartow hit a bit three pointer to put it within two. Then Bartow stood in and gutsy charge.
The possession arrow went back to Rawlins. 11 seconds on the clock. The Outlaws were down by two with no time outs remaining. And one last chance tie any maybe avoid the upset.
Final Score 64-62, and a hard fought ending to a great season for the Rawlins Outlaws.
The big workhorses for the Outlaws all finished in double digits:
Ashton Bartow had 17 points and one rebound.
Colton Ice, 16 points, one rebound.
Mitchell Allard, 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Eli Kern, 11 point and 6 rebounds.
Cowboy Basketball: Wyoming raced past a rusty San Jose State team 111-80 in opening round men’s action at the Mountain West tournament yesterday. Four Cowboys scored in double figures led by 6-8 freshman Graham Ike.
Ike dominated at both ends of the court, blocking the Spartans at one end of the court and scoring at the other. The 32-point outburst from Ike was the most ever for a freshman in tournament history. It helped Wyoming set a new record for the most team points scored in regulation at the Mountain West tournament. It just wasn’t the big freshman. Everybody got in on the action. Xavier DuSell added 19 points, Hunter Maldonado 17. And Marcus Williams had 15 points. Assistant Coach Ken DeWeese said the offense was clicking from the start.
The Cowboys will need that firepower today. The win sets up a showdown with the #1 seed and defending conference champion, San Diego State. The Spartans handled Wyoming easily when then they met on the West Coast earlier this year. The action gets underway at one here on Bigfoot 99 with the tip-off show starting at 12:30.
The Wyoming Cowgirls are going to the dance. In a tournament run for the ages, the seventh seeded Cowgirls clinched the Mountain West Title with a 59-56 upset of #4 seed Fresno State.
The Cowgirls went on an 18-0 run in the second quarter. They stayed red hot until the three minute mark of the fourth.
Keith Kelly had the call, but that’s when the Cowgirls went cold. The Bulldogs fought back to within one point after going on a 6-0 run. Wyoming went over three minutes without a score, turning it over three times. The Bulldogs missed a wide open shot to take the lead. Then two missed free throws by Wyoming. It came down to the wire, the final few seconds.
Grace Ellis hit two free throws to put Wyoming up by three. The Bulldogs had one last opportunity, but the Wyoming defense held.
All that was left was to get out the ladder and cut down the nets as the Cowgirls won their first ever Mountain West Championship. The win gives Wyoming the Mountain West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be the Cowgirls second trip in program history. The Women’s NCAA Selection Show is set for Monday night at 5 p.m., Mountain Time and can be seen on ESPN.
