March 5, 2021 |
Saratoga never gave up the fight, but fell short defending their 1A State
Championship title against Upton last night in Casper. Upton won the
school’s first ever State Title banner 69-54.
The first half seesawed back and forth with Saratoga leading by four at the
end of the first period — 13-9. The lead then went the other way, with Upton
up by three at the half — 26-23.
The Panthers went cold in the third frame with shots banging in and out,
and not going Saratoga’s way.
That was the period call on the NFHS network as the Bobcats began to pull
away with Luca Brooks proving to be dominating force inside. The Panthers
had no quit in them though.
Bartlett finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Saratoga’s Noah
Rimmer was a big force down low in the second half, working to keep his
team alive. Panthers pulled within eight in the fourth, but couldn’t close the
gap. Teegan Love played out his heart as always, fouling out with less than a
minute on the clock.
There would be no repeat for the Panthers. Upton won its first title game.
Saratoga finishes up the season in second place. Southeast defeated Dubois
to claim third place in Boys 1A.
Meanwhile, Cokeville won their third straight Girls 1A Championship with a
62-48 win over Upton.
3A Southeast quadrant play got underway yesterday. The girls played in
Torrington where the season came to an end with the Rawlins Lady
Outlaws falling to Torrington 57-43.
The boys played in Wheatland where #1 in the Southeast Quad, Rawlins
defeated Torrington 71-40 in the opening round.
The Outlaws faced the quad’s #2 team, Wheatland, in the nightcap.
Rawlins trailed by four through much of the first half, but tied it at 20
apiece with a wild three point play which drew two technical fouls that
produced seven for the Outlaws.
KZEW’s Kent Smith had the call for his home team inside Wheatland’s “dog
house,” disbelieving the play that catapulted the Outlaws back into the
game. Rawlins went on a roll, hitting half-time up by one, 25-24. Bullldogs
by three at the end of the third period, 33-29.
The fourth quarter turned tough and physical. Rawlins took a six point lead,
the largest of the game, with about a minute remaining on the clock. At that
point, the Bulldogs had only scored six points in the fourth period. The
Outlaws used their strength off the bench to finish off the Bulldogs.
With the 46-41 win over Wheatland, Rawlins advances to the 3A East
Regional Tournament. The Outlaws will take on Douglas. The #2 Bobcats in
the Northeast Quadrant edged out #1 Buffalo 56-54. Rawlins and Douglas
will play in Cheyenne at 6 p.m. on Saturday night to decide the east regional
championship.
