Don’t look too close, but the Shoshoni Wranglers are atop the Class 2-A Northwest with a perfect 2-0 league record.
The Wranglers edged Fremont County rival Wind River for the second time in as many weeks 50-48 at home on Friday then surprised Rocky Mountain in Cowley on Saturday afternoon 50-38.
The Cougars must feel a little snake bit after falling by a pair on Friday and then again on Saturday in a 47-45 loss to Greybull.
Shoshoni shot well early, taking a 7-2 in a very slow first period before the Cougars clawed back to tie the game at 9-9 on a pair of Rowdy Shearer free throws.
A pull-up jumper by Mato Amos gave Wind River their first lead at 11-9 early in the second period. The Cougars led 21-17 at the half.
These guys have been playing each other since fifth grade so it was “Old Home” week for most of them.
Wind River pressed hard, and Shoshoni handled the pressure for most of the game, but neither of them shot the ball well.
The exception was Shoshoni’s Morgan Neil who drilled three 3-pointers on the night.
Wind River’s offense came from guards Wambli Romero and Amos off dribble penetration on pull-up jump shots.
Neil kept the Cougars extended with his long-range shooting and Quintan Clark did the work inside to keep the game close, but Wind River’s pressure started to force turnovers and they took double-digit leads twice.
Shoshoni head coach Taylor Dick put his Wranglers in a full-court press as well in the final period and the Cougars turned the ball over on bad passes and ball-handling errors.
Wind River held a 48-40 advantage with 1:11 left in the game but the Wranglers mounted their best offensive burst of the game with Neil’s 3-point shot tying the game at 48 with 38 seconds left.
Both teams missed shots but with eight seconds remaining Braxton Mills drove the right baseline and was hammered with:08 on the clock. The junior guard hit both free throws for a 50-48 lead.
Wind River managed a last shot that dropped through just after the buzzer sounded. The Cougars challenged the play but game officials ruled the shot after time had expired and Shoshoni pulled off the comeback win.
Clark tallied 14 and Neil 11 to lead the Wranglers.
Amos and Romero each scored 15 for Wind River.
Anatomy of a center jump with Gage Bartlett tossing up the ball for Rowdy Shearer and Quintan Clark- h/t Randy Tucker
SHOSHONI 7 10 10 23 – 50
WIND RIVER 4 17 13 14 – 48
Shoshoni – Oakley Hicks 1 3-4 5, Aiden Jarvis (1) 0-0 3, Leslie Todd (1) 1-2 4, S. St. Clair 1 0-0 2, Carson Kisling 1 0-2 2, Quintan Clark 5 4-8 14, Morgan Neil 1 (3) 0-0 11, Landon Kasper 1 0-0 2, Braxton Mills 1 (1) 2-2 7. Totals 11 (6) 10-18 50
Wind River -Kolbie Devries 1 1-2 3, Mato Amos 5 (1) 2-4 15, Ford David 3-8 3, Wambli Romero 6 (1) 0-0 15, Juaquin Stevens (1) 1-2 4, Rowdy Shearer 2 2-4 6, Kyzaia Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 (3) 9-20 48