The Riverton Middle School was filled to capacity as St. Stephen’s and Shoshoni met for the first time this season with the Eagles taking an entertaining 63-59 win over the Wranglers.
St. Stephen’s took a big lead early as they often do, but left the door open late for a Shoshoni rally in the final period.
The Eagles are fun to watch. They’re quick, unselfish, and whip the ball around at high speed.
Cadyn, Stephon, and Stephan LoneDog fuel most of that action with the trio of cat-quick guards working the perimeter, driving the lane, or slapping the ball away defensively.
At times the game looked like a 10 man “keep away” contest as neither team could control the ball with constant steals going back and forth.
Shoshoni was more controlled than St. Stephen’s, taking time to set up their offense.
Wrangler junior post Quenton Clark showed his ball handling skills many times with the Eagles swarming in full court man pressure. The 6-2 Clark found openings down the right sideline when Shoshoni guards were denied the ball.
That frenetic style of play came at a cost for the Eagles with Cadyn and Stephen LoneDog both fouling out. St. Stephen’s committed 22 fouls on the game.
The Shoshoni comeback fell short but the Eagles left the door open for them converting just five of 12 attempts from the free throw line at crunch time when the Wranglers had to foul to stop the clock.
Cadyn LoneDog led all scorers with 17, Stephen LoneDog had 16 and Lawrence Jenkins 13 for the Eagles.
Braxton Mills had 14 for Shoshoni, Leslie Todd 11, and Clark nine.
St. Stephen’s will play in front of another capacity crowd Friday at 7:30 at Riverton High School against Wyoming Indian.
Shoshoni has a loser-out game at 1 pm against Rocky Mountain.
Shoshoni 13 13 10 23 – 59
St. Stephen’s 20 14 18 11 – 63
Shoshoni – Oakley Hicks 1 2-4 4, Aidan Jarvis 3 1-3 7, Leslie Todd 4 (1) 0-0 11, Carson Kisling 1 (1) 1-2 6, Quintan Clark 3 3-4 9, Morgan Neil 3 2-4 8, Braxton Mills 5 (1) 1-3 14. Totals 20 (3) 10-20 59
St. Stephen’s – Cadyn LoneDog 4 (2) 3-5 17, Donnie Watt 1-4 1, Stephon LoneDog 4 1-4 9, Stephen LoneDog 3 (2) 4-4 16, Lawrence Jenkins 5 3-4 13, Leland FightingBear 3 1-2 7. Totals 19 (4) 13-23 63