Wyoming
Robust Montana boys sweep; Wyoming girls end skid in All-Star Basketball Series
BILLINGS — It had been nine long years since the Wyoming girls tasted victory in their annual all-star basketball rivalry with Montana.
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Robust Montana boys sweep, Wyoming girls end skid in All-Star Basketball Series
But that streak came to an end Saturday at Lockwood High School, as the Cowboy State snared an 81-75 victory to salvage a split in this year’s Midland Roundtable Montana-Wyoming series and win for the first time since June 10, 2016.
Meanwhile, the Montana boys had no designs on a split and rolled to a 98-73 victory in the nightcap, one year after being swept by Wyoming, which snapped a run of 22 straight wins.
The Treasure State boys took command early, leading by 25 points in the first quarter, and didn’t look back to extend their already commanding lead in the all-time rivalry.
MTN Sports
Montana boys 98 , Wyoming 73
The boys from the Treasure State came into the week aware of Wyoming’s two-victories from last season, which ended a long run of dominance.
“We just wanted to get the streak back going,” said Box Elder’s Tracen Jilot. “We didn’t want to be that team that lost. Everybody’s watching you. You have people texting you, ‘You can’t lose this game.’”
Jilot, who helped Box Elder to two states titles and back-to-back undefeated seasons, certainly did his part by scoring a team-high 19 points, including nine in the opening quarter as Montana built its advantage.
Missoula Loyola’s Reynolds Johnston added 15 points, not to mention an emphatic alley-oop dunk in the final seconds of the game that punctuated the victory. Johnston, the Montana Gatorade player of the year from this past season, scored 10 of his points in the first quarter.
Other standouts for the Treasure State included Billings Skyview’s Zakai Owens, who had 15 points, and Manhattan Christian’s Christian Triemstra, who added 11. Montana finished with 10 3-pointers, two each from Johnston and Owens.
Greg Rachac / MTN Sports
But Jilot credited his team’s performance on the other end of the floor.
“The big thing was our defensive pressure,” Jilot said. “The biggest thing you can control is your effort on defense. That’s one of the biggest things we focused on, just being relentless and letting our defense create our offense, and just being unselfish.”
Laramie’s Jaden Smith paced Wyoming with 16 points. Lane Hladky of Gillette Campbell County and Casper Natrona’s Tanner Hagar each added 12. Campbell County’s Truman DeGrange made three 3-pointers, account for his nine points for the Cowboy State.
Montana, following a 102-90 win at the Pronghorn Center in Gillette, Wyo., on Friday, now owns a 69-29 advantage in the longstanding series.
Montana was guided by longtime Three Forks coach Mike Sauvageau in lieu of Steve Keller, who was away due to responsibilities as head coach of the Great Falls Electric of The Basketball League.
Wyoming girls 81, Montana 75
In the midst of what was a back-and-forth first half, Montana’s girls were able to build a 10-point advantage in the second quarter. But Wyoming closed the half with a final-minute flurry, and the Cowboy Staters went into halftime trailing 43-39.
The teams were separated by just two points at the end of the third quarter, but after a hoop by Billings Skyviews’ Rae Smart on a pass from Huntley Project’s Paige Lofing, Montana jumped ahead 69-62.
Greg Rachac / MTN Sports
A tough shot in the lane by Lofing gave Montana a 71-68 lead with 4:35 left, but that was the last field goal the team made until Dillon’s Kenleigh Graham scored a bucket with 19 seconds left. In between, Wyoming took control.
A transition basket by MSU Billings-bound Lauren Kuhbacher of Gillette Campbell County put Wyoming in front 72-71 with 2:36 left, and a steal and hoop by Pinedale’s Elyn Bowers made the score 77-73 in favor of Wyoming with 55 seconds remaining.
Bowers, who is headed to play at Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference, scored 21 points and made 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter as Wyoming won for the first time in the series in nearly a decade.
“We really upped our intensity,” Bowers said. “We kind of really came together. As a group, I think we hate losing. All of our teams — our high school teams — are highly successful. We just wanted to come together, bring the intensity and get a win.”
Lofing, who is headed to play at Gonzaga, led the Montana All-Stars with 13 points, though she was hounded by tight defense in the fourth quarter. The MSUB-bound Smart added 12. Miles City’s Alli Glasscock and Lockwood’s Tailey Harris each had nine points.
Douglas’ Lauren Olsen scored 14 points for Wyoming, and Cheyenne Central’s Karson Tempel had 11.
Montana, which prevailed 91-80 in Game 1 on Friday at the Pronghorn Center, still leads the all-time girls series by a 42-14 margin.
The future is nuclear, at least according to the Wyoming Business Council (WBC).
WBC launched a new community conversation series, called “Building Wyoming’s Future.”
The first webinar focused on the nuclear industry in the state.
“It really kind of shared a holistic vision for how this new energy and new advanced fuel in the new nuclear industry is going to make a difference for Wyoming,” said WBC CEO Josh Dorrell.
The public webinar focused on the proposed BWX Technologies (BWXT) advanced nuclear fuel facility in Gillette and Campbell County. It highlighted how the project would serve as a catalyst for economic growth, job creation and long-term opportunity across the state.
“[It] showed that it’s not just one company that benefits, but it’s a number of companies across the state that are already benefiting from this, and more will continue as this industry opens its doors to Wyoming,” said Dorrell.
The state is considering investing in BWX Technologies in the form of $100 million through the Large Project Energy Matching Fund. BWXT would put down over $400 million. According to WBC, the project would create more than 200 jobs and long-term economic benefits like an increased tax base and a new energy export.
But not all growth is seen as positive. Critics have already sent one nuclear company away – Radiant Industries’ proposed factory for portable nuclear microreactors near Bar Nunn. It came from people’s concerns that the state could have become a nuclear dump site for the nation.
WBC said Wyoming needs to be forward-thinking.
“Are we as a state going to make sure we put things in as a state from a policy perspective that both protect the state and invite business to come?” asked Dorrell.
According to Gov. Mark Gordon, Wyoming, as an “all of the above” energy policy state, welcomes most energy sources under the president’s “drill baby drill” push.
That’s even as Trump cancels almost $8 billion in grants for clean energy projects in 16 states.
“I think we’ve got to take a look at our state and the wealth that we have in the state to utilize that to secure our own future. I don’t think we want to be dependent upon the federal government. We were already influenced heavily by the fact that we want to use our own wealth to determine our future,” said Dorrell.
The Wyoming Energy Authority is accepting public comment on the state’s investment in BWXT until Nov. 25.
Gordon is expected to make a decision by Dec. 15.
The next community conversation from WBC will be focused on “critical minerals beyond the rocks.”
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
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