The Southeast High School Cyclones crushed Midwest and soundly defeated Hulett at regionals to capture the No. 2 berth at the 1A State Tournament in Casper this weekend.
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LARAMIE – Two conference wins by the Southeast High School Cyclones at the 1A East Regional Tournament in Laramie propelled the Cyclones to the No. 2 berth at the 1A State Basketball Championships this weekend in Casper.
Southeast opened the weekend at regionals with a bang, completely overwhelming the Midwest Oilers, 61-14, on Thursday.
Progressing to the semifinals, the Cyclones soundly defeated the Hulett Red Devils, 51-30, to punch their ticket to state.
The championship game pitted Southeast against a tough Upton Bobcats’ starting lineup. The Bobcats increased the pressure following a close first quarter to post the win, 58-32.
“It was a good weekend,” coach Craig Leithead said. “The Cyclones played pretty well. The first two games were definitely team efforts and the boys hustled and got the job done. Upton is a strong team, and while he held our own in the first half, we fell behind in the second.”
The Cyclones open the state tournament against Saratoga on Thursday at 12 p.m.
“We look forward to playing Saratoga,” Leithead said. “We continue to develop, and I don’t think we’ve hit our peak yet.”
Midwest
A fast and furious Southeast offense outpaced Midwest, 22-6, in the first quarter. The Cyclones netted 16 points in the second quarter while a determined Southeast defense held Midwest to two points.
Southeast dominated the scoreboard, 38-8, at halftime.
Showing no mercy in the third quarter, the Southeast defense held Midwest to one point while the Cyclones’ offense tossed in 13. Southeast’s second string stepped onto the court late in the third quarter as the running clock took effect and finished off the job in the fourth.
Sophomore T.J. Moats led Southeast in scoring against Midwest with 20 points. Junior Ayden Desmond contributed 12 points, fellow junior Kannon Tippetts seven, senior Cole Sauer six and sophomore Beaux Shimic five.
Moats went double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds. Junior Ayden Shimic filled out the stat sheet with six steals and five assists.
Hulett
The first quarter was close, with the Red Devils leading by one point, 11-10, when the second quarter began.
Turning the tables in the second quarter, Southeast topped Hulett in scoring, 14-5, to capture the lead, 24-16, at halftime.
The Cyclones maintained their momentum into the second half, outscoring Hulett, 14-5, in the third quarter and 13-9 in the fourth.
Desmond posted 25 points against the Red Devils, along with six rebounds and three steals. Sauer tallied nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Moats netted seven points, Tippetts six and Beaux Shimic three.
Upton
A neck-and-neck first quarter found Upton ahead by a single possession, 13-11. The Bobcats tossed in eight points in the second quarter to four by Southeast, and Upton remained ahead by a few possessions, 21-15, at halftime.
Upton pulled out all the stops in the second half to widen its lead to more than 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Desmond totaled 10 points against Upton, with Moats and Tippetts adding nine apiece and two by both Beaux Shimic and Sauer.
