Broncs finish 2-1 at Gillette tourney | Sports
The Cody basketball team entered the ReMax Early Bird tournament in Gillette with the belief they are playing much better than they were at this time last season.
And after losing 63-30 to No. 2 ranked Thunder Basin on Thursday, they beat Campbell County 48-45 on Friday and took down 3A No. 3 ranked Buffalo 48-38 on Saturday to get off to a solid start to the season.
“I think the team did really well this weekend,” sophomore Grady McCarten said. “It was the first time the Broncs won a game, let alone two at that tournament.”
The Broncs took on No. 2 Thunder Basin on Thursday and McCarten said the Broncs needed to guard better in order to handle the type of pressure Thunder Basin gave them in the second half.
The Broncs responded after the loss in the first quarter against Campbell County on Friday.
Robby Porter drilled a pair of threes early, while the rest of the Broncs outplayed the Camels on both ends on the floor.
The Camels stayed in the game on some hot outside shooting and tied things up at 10 at the buzzer at the end of the first.
Cody continued to get good looks at the basket in the second, but struggled to get the lid off the rim until Kam Niemann finished off a drive for a score to put the Broncs up 13-10, but the Camels hung around long enough to tie things up again at 16 heading into the break.
Both offenses came alive in the second half, as a McCarten triple put the Broncs up 22-18.
He would force a turnover right after that bucket and Porter went baseline for a hoop that put the Broncs up 24-18.
The Camels stormed back, however, draining shots from deep before a Trey Schroeder drive and finish helped Cody retake the lead 28-27.
The Camels ended up with a 34-33 lead heading into the fourth, however, as Cody failed to get much to fall at the free throw line or the perimeter.
McCarten opened up the fourth with another three, and a Niemann bucket stretched the lead to 41-38.
The Camels tried to set something up with time winding down and trailing 43-41, but Wilkins Radakovich stepped in front of a pass to end the threat.
McCarten helped build the Bronc lead at the free throw line, but again the Camels drained a three to pull to within 46-45 with 8.8 seconds remaining.
“We took ownership for our lack of ball pressure and letting Thunder drive to the rim easily and we didn’t allow that against Campbell and shut them down,” McCarten said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well all weekend so our defense had to step up.”
Radakovich ended up burning by the Camel defense for a lay-in on the ensuing in bounds play for the Broncs, however, and Cody sealed things with another steal to get the 48-45 victory.
The Broncs rode that momentum to a big win over a solid Buffalo team on Saturday, and they left Gillette with a 2-1 record after going 0-3 last year in same tournament.
“We had to run our press breaker right against Buffalo,” McCarten said. “We didn’t at the beginning so they got some easy turnovers but once we settled down, which unfortunately wasn’t until late in the game, it was pretty easy for us to score and not allow them to.”
The Broncs host Powell on Friday before heading to Sheridan on Saturday for their final matchup before the Christmas break.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm on Friday night against the Panthers.