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Cougar ‘A' team earns early season hoop victories
By Amber Peabody
This document was published online on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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| Eighth-grader Brock Goodwin shoots over a Greybull defender on Nov. 15 during a Cougar “A” team win. (Photo by Sara Loven) |
The CMS eighth-grade basketball teams are building on last year's experience.
The A team is 4-2 after the first two weeks of the season, and the B team is 2-3.
The A team opened with a 31-23 win against Worland. The game allowed coach Kyle Kleersnyder a chance to look at all his players.
“They gave us a chance to see what we need to work on,” he said. “Our offense is new and we knew that we would have to be patient. The kids did a great job.”
Zane VanOrden led with 12 points, Garrett Randolph had eight and Brian Mandella six.
The Cougars picked up their second win Nov. 1 against Greybull, winning 28-21.
Shad Moir led with 12 points, VanOrden had six and Dan Dunn four.
“We played hard for four quarters and scored at least eight points in every quarter except the third,” Kleersnyder said. “We spread the scoring throughout the team.”
The team improved to 3-0 with a 36-27 win against Powell Nov. 6 at home.
VanOrden, Garrett Randolph and Brennen Pollock each had eight points.
“Our offense had great success with Powell,” Kleersnyder said. “We had seven different kids score. Our defense made progress as well. We held Powell to two points in the first quarter and one point in the third.”
At the Worland Tournament on Nov. 8, Cody defeated Lander 40-31.
“This was a great game because we had to play against a Lander player who was 6'3”,” Kleersnyder said. “It forced our defense to make adjustments we hadn't planned on. The kids responded well and took Lucas Watteins out of his game.”
VanOrden had 11 points, Dunn 10 and Moir nine.
The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season against Riverton later in the tournament. The Spartans won 65-30.
Cody Hult led with nine points, Pollock had eight and Dunn seven.
“We ran into a strong Riverton team who couldn't miss,” Kleersnyder said. “They shut down our offense and pushed the ball down the floor. They are the best team we have seen so far.”
The A team fell to Lovell 37-31 Nov. 11 at home.
“This was a great game for us,” Kleersnyder said. “The game against Lovell prepared us for playing against a team with more height.”
Moir had 10 points, and VanOrden and Randolph had eight.
The B team's first game was a 29-14 loss to Worland on Oct. 30.
Tristen Acton led the team with six points and Leighton Blanchard had four.
“This was a slow start for the B team,” coach Tim Moir said. “We had a tough time getting into our offense and we were held to two points in the second and third quarters.”
Cody picked up its first win Nov. 6 against Powell. The Cougars won 27-20.
Blanchard finished with nine points, Anthony Prosceno added eight and Brian Mandella six.
“We had a great game and were able to run our offense,” Moir said. “We dominated the rebounds at both ends of the floor.”
The B team improved to 2-1 with a win against Lander on Nov. 9 at the Worland tournament. They defeated Lander 39-18.
“It was a great game for the ‘B' team,” Moir said. “Everyone contributed to this win, our offense was opening up great shots and the defense played just like we practice.”
Mandella led with 10 points, Blanchard had nine, and Brock Goodwin and Acton had six.
Cody suffered a close 35-33 loss to Riverton later in the day.
Blanchard finished with 23 points, and Mandella had four.
The Cougars lost to Lovell 34-32 Nov. 11.
Blanchard scored 13 points, Mandella had eight and Acton four.
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