CASPER, Wyo. — The Campbell County Camels’ title hopes came to an end Friday night, as they fell to Cheyenne East 69-39.
Both teams looked strong early, with Campbell County getting on the board first and East responding on the ensuing possession, but as the first quarter wore on, the East Thunderbirds were able to find great success slashing to the rim, while the Camel shooters went cold.
The lead first reached double digits when the Thunderbirds pushed the score to 15-5 with a nice basket in the paint with just under two minutes to go in the opening frame. Then, seconds later, they tacked another three on when a fast break ended with a 3-pointer from the corner. The lead never got below double digits again.
And to cap off the dominating opening quarter, the lead ballooned to 21-5 with a buzzer-beating triple from the corner.
Roughly two minutes into the second quarter, Campbell County scored for the first time since early in the first period, knocking down a 3-pointer from the top of the key. However, the Thunderbirds were able to immediately deflate them again with a 3-pointer of their own just seconds later.
East pushed its lead past 20 points with a thunderous slam dunk off a fast break, forcing the Camels to call a timeout with the score at 31-10. At the half, East led 34-16.
The lead first eclipsed 30 points in the closing minutes of the third quarter, when another triple from the corner pushed the score to 49-18.
Throughout the game, East was able to utilize an inside-outside gameplan. The Thunderbirds got to the rim with ease, which quickly opened things up on the perimeter.
Brenden Bohlmann led the way for the Thunderbirds with 17 points. Bohlmann knocked down a quartet of 3-pointers in the effort. Drew Jackson scored 12 and pulled down eight rebounds, of which three were offensive boards. And Nathan Mirich scored 10 points to go with six boards. Kysar Jolley also had eight rebounds and seven points, and Garet Schlabs dished out a game-high four assists, and scored six points of his own. Joy Rayl scored four points, Angelo Lahnert and Renton Jensen each scored two, and Kael Lissman chipped in a point as well.
For the Camels, Jackson Evans scored 13 points to lead the team. Mason Drube scored eight, Danny Carsrud finished with six, Shayn DuVall and Seth Peterson each scored four, Rylan Robertson had three and Nash Lutgen scored a pair.
