Boys junior varsity team struggling but improving

Boys JV basketball Coach Ryan Shaffer said after a couple low-scoring games against Buffalo and Rawlins, last week’s games against Wheatland and Torrington were a nice change.

Regarding the 60-44 loss to Wheatland on Friday, Shaffer said the boys played well but again had a rough second quarter, being outscored by eight in the quarter and down by 10 at the half. The second half, our boys were able to keep up with scoring for the most part, but still ended up with a 16 point-loss.

The Thermopolis boys were able to get off 51 shots, quite an improvement over the less than 30 shots they had against Buffalo a couple weeks back. The team’s getting better at taking open shots, he noted, though their three-point game was a bit rough with only two of 19.

Another factor, Shaffer said, was Cade McLean being out with illness, which meant others had to fill the empty point guard spot. Both Sterling Gerber and Dustin Harvey filled the spot, but they both play varsity and had to split the role as they are limited to the number of quarters they can play.

The goal was 48 points, Shaffer said, so they got fairly close. Logan Shumway had a good game with 11 points, scoring in each quarter. Shaffer said Shumway was five for eight within the three-point line. Oran Coyne also seven rebounds, and Kolby George’s defense improved and he ended up with eight rebounds.

Scoring against Wheatland were Shumway — 11, Gerber — 9, George — 8, Harvey — 6, Jarron Mortimore — 6, Hunter Bartholomew — 2 and Coyne — 2.

As for Saturday’s game at Torrington, a 58-36 loss, Shaffer said the boys were up 12-8 in the first quarter, but were outscored by 10 in the second, so going from a four-point lead to a six-point deficit was a “bit of a killjoy.”

Still not having the regular point guard hurt the team a bit, Shaffer said, and there were too many turnovers. As for the second half, he said it was difficult for them to find points though their being able to get 45 shots was still an improvement from where they’ve been.

Overall for shots, the boys were able to make 21 points on 16 shots. The second half saw more shots, but not as many made.

Shumway had another good night, going four for seven. Coyne also showed his skills, with five defensive rebounds. Mortimore had four defensive rebounds and two offensive, and Harvey nabbed three steals and four rebounds.

With Torrington in particular, Shaffer said Bartholomew, typically a bench player, had to play quite a few minutes and gave a lot of good effort. He made five shots and took two points, but also got five rebounds.

With regard to the seemingly cursed second quarter, Shaffer said it’s about finding the players that will work, and also work in the varsity players who are limited on quarters.

He also hopes to do a bit better defensively and hitting their shots. The boys had 29 shots in the second half, but only made six of them.

This week, he plans to have them practice shooting drills which will hopefully bring up their confidence on the court. He also hopes to have everyone well, which he expects will help with the second quarter.

As for the upcoming games against Worland and Buffalo this week, Shaffer said he likes playing teams twice in a season because it helps show how the boys have grown and how they will react the second go around.

Scoring against Torrington were Shumway — 8, Coyne — 7, Mortimore — 7, Gerber — 6, Harvey — 4, Bartholomew — 2 and George — 2.

Tipoff at Worland is Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Tipoff for the home game against Buffalo is Friday at 2:30 p.m.