HANNA – The Southeast High School Cyclones snagged their sixth conference win with a resounding 51-19 victory against the Hanna-Elk Mountain (HEM) Miners at an away game on February 17.

Southeast enters the 1A East Regional Tournament in Laramie with an undefeated, 6-0 conference record, securing the No. 1 seed for the Cyclones in the 1A Southeast Quadrant.

Southeast will square off against Midwest, the No. 4 seed in the Northeast, in the opening game at regionals with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“We had a good Saturday in Hanna,” head coach Craig Leithead said. “We shot the ball pretty well and played good defense and distributed the ball. We got to play all twelve of our players and the younger group got to see a full quarter of play.”

The Cyclones outmaneuvered the Miners, 13-8, in a physical first quarter. Senior Cole Sauer opened the game with a close-range shot. Junior Kannon Tippetts snagged a steal and scored from the charity stripe.

Taking possession, junior Ayden Desmond netted a shot from inside HEM’s perimeter. Fellow junior Ayden Shimic snatched a steal, setting Desmond up to score another close-range shot.

Defensive pressure by Cole Sauer and sophomore T.J. Moats resulted in a pair of turnovers. Moats and Desmond followed up with a four-point run.

Tippetts and Desmond both rustled a steal and Cole Sauer blocked an attempted shot by HEM.

Moats rounded out scoring in the first quarter with a jumper.

An airtight Southeast defense completely shut out HEM from scoring in the second quarter while the Cyclones’ offense netted 15 points. Sophomore Beaux Shimic led the Southeast offense with six points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer before halftime.

Moats tossed in five points in the second quarter with Tippetts and Desmond both contributing two. On defense, Cole Sauer, Tippetts and Beaux Shimic each grabbed a steal while Cole Sauer, Desmond and Moats each made blocks.

The Cyclones led, 28-8, at halftime.

A tenacious Cyclones’ defense prevented HEM from scoring again in the third quarter. Desmond, Tippetts and Ayden Shimic each posted steals.

The Southeast offense scored 13 points in the third period, with Moats shooting six points, Desmond four and Tippetts converting an and-1.

The Cyclones’ second string entered the game in the third quarter and fourth quarters. Beaux Shimic netted five points in the final quarter. Sophomore Chase Sauer scored from inside the perimeter and fellow sophomore Spencer Booth draining an outside shot. On defense,  junior Connor Coxbill rustled a steal. 

Moats led Southeast in scoring against HEM with 15 points. Desmond tallied 12 points, Beaux Shimic 11 and Tippetts six.

Moats posted six rebounds. Tippetts totaled four assists and five steals.