TORRINGTON – The Southeast Cyclone boys’ basketball team fell behind early against the Lingle-Fort Laramie Doggers only to storm back, coming away with a 49-40 victory.

Trailing 12-4 after the first eight minutes of play, things quickly picked up for Southeast in the second quarter.

“We lost our on-ball pressure. We just allowed them to see the floor too much and make passes. That was the first problem,” L-FL coach Steve Zimmerman said. “The second was, they got us out of our flow. We weren’t attempting to score inside. We were settling for a lot of 3s.”

During that time frame, the Cyclones connected on four 3-pointers in the quarter. Southeast got long balls from freshman Cord Herring, senior Cade Herring and two from sophomore Hayden Anderson, taking their first lead of the game at the four-minute mark in the quarter.

“We shot poorly in that first quarter. We missed shots, and it got us rattled,” Cyclone coach Crockett Herring said. “Then in the second quarter, I don’t know what happened, but we hit two or three 3s and got our press going a little bit.”

Southeast switched the full-court press from a man look to a zone, aiding to the run.

“It caught them off guard,” Crockett Herring said. “Lingle is an improved basketball team. I was impressed with them.”

Southeast never extended its lead to more than eight, leaving the Doggers within striking distance.

“Then we muddled down the third and fourth quarters, but it was still enough for a win,” Crockett Herring said. “That’s all I care about.”

Meanwhile, for the Doggers, they want to use the loss to continue improving as they march towards the postseason.

“Each game is a learning experience. If we are going to dwell on getting beat in this county war, then we’re not living about what we are supposed to,” Zimmerman said. “Our season doesn’t depend on beating Southeast. We need to make sure this game prepares us for the games that are truly meaningful at Regionals.”

The Cyclones were led in scoring by Anderson with 20, while sophomore Bodie Herring added 11 points. All seven Southeast players to see the floor Thursday also cracked the scoring column.

It was their third win in a row.

“That was our goal from the beginning,” Crockett Herring said of the team building momentum after getting into the win column. “We want to get better every game.”

Meanwhile, the Doggers were led in scoring by junior Caeden Riley with 15. Sophomore Cordell Forkner and senior Ty Mueller added nine each.

The teams were also back in action later over the weekend.

On Friday, the Doggers hosted Niobrara County, knocking off the Tigers 58-52.

It was close throughout, but in the third quarter, L-FL outscored the Tigers 16-9 to pull away for the six-point victory.

Forkner led the Doggers with 18 points, while Mueller added 12 and Riley 11.

L-FL (7-3) travels to Guernsey (1-9) on Thursday, Jan. 17 for a 7 p.m. contest.

On Saturday, the Cyclones saw their win streak come to an end with a 79-60 loss to the Cheyenne East JV Thunderbirds.

East jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised to the 19-point win.

The Thunderbirds poured on 20 or more points in the three of the four quarters, including 27 in the third.

Anderson led the Cyclones with 27 points, while sophomore Sawyer Anderson added 10 and Bodie Herring eight.

The Cyclones (3-7) travel to Pine Bluffs (8-1) on Friday, Jan. 18 for a 7 p.m. tipoff.