ROCK SPRINGS – It wasn’t the end the Rock Springs Tigers were hoping for as Kelly Walsh caught fire on Saturday to take the 4A West title, 64-41.
The top-seed Trojans and Tigers split during the regular season with both teams winning on their home court. The Tigers were hoping for the same as they hosted the 4A West Region title game on Saturday. Kelly Walsh came out firing from behind the three point line but Kael Mikkelsen and an early three-point play by Kelby Kramer kept the Tigers close in the first quarter. With the score even at eight, the Trojans ended the first period on a 12-2 run to jump up by double digits, 20-10
A Kramer putback and a three-point play by Mikkelsen to start the second were matched by KW as they continued to pull away using the three-point shot. Trevor Hautala added free throws late in the half but the Tigers were held to only nine points in the quarter while Kelly Walsh put 17 on the board to take a 37-19 lead at the break.
After a big game on Friday in the semifinals, Nick McMurtrey came out hitting from deep to get the third quarter started but the Tigers continued to struggle offensively. Coach Jason Buell tried several different line-ups to try to spark the Tigers but the intensity and shooting never came around.
Rock Springs scored 22 in the second half but could not shut down the Trojans as they ran away with the 23-point win. Kramer finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers. Mikkelsen finished with 12 points with most of those coming in the first half. Justis Reese came off the bench in the second half to finish with six on the night for Rock Springs.
The Tigers will enter the 4A State Tournament in the second seed and will open with Cheyenne East on Thursday. The game is set to tip at 7:30 p.m. at Casper College. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season.
Rock Springs High School
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