By NATHAN OSTER
The Burlington Huskies did not blink when they faced adversity at last weekend’s Class 1A West Regional.
The No. 1 seed from the Northwest, the Huskies got off to the worst possible start, losing four starters to injury before halftime of their opening-round game against Encampment.
In the lineup for the first time since spraining an ankle, Eric McNiven banged heads with teammate Spencer Jones while going for a loose ball, resulting in cuts for each of them that would require stitches in a nearby emergency room.
As if that wasn’t enough, Sam Davidson had gone down in the opening half with a sprained ankle, Tim Davidson with a tweaked back — leaving just one starter and the team’s reserves to finish the game for the Huskies.
“They came in and kept it going,” said Coach Matt Davidson of the 64-28 win.
With all but Sam Davidson returning to action the next day, Burlington returned to its overpowering self, dominating Ten Sleep 74-41 in the semis and St. Stephens 72-62 in the final to win the region title and earn a berth in this weekend’s Class 1A Basketball Championships in Casper.
“I was really pleased that our team was able to get through all that adversity and just keep going,” Davidson said. “They showed a lot of character.”
Injuries aside, the weekend couldn’t have gone much more smoothly for the Huskies.
They shot 45 percent from the floor, dominated the boards and limited their turnovers in their win over Encampment.
Sam Davidson netted 12 and Daniel Davidson 11 in the victory.
Ten Sleep didn’t fare much better on Friday, losing by 33.
The Huskies got 15 each from McNiven and Porter Jones and 14 from Tom Davidson in the win.
And for the third time this season, the Huskies easily dispatched St. Stephens, winning Saturday’s title game 72-62 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final suggests. Burlington led by as many as 26 before St. Stephens closed the gap late against the Huskies junior varsity squad.
“We had a good tournament,” Davidson said in summing up the three games. “We played great team ball and we kept turnovers to a minimum in all three games.”
State preview
The Huskies will face Arvada-Clearmont, the No. 4 seed from the East, in their state tournament opener today (Thursday, March 4). Tipoff will be at noon in the Casper Events Center.
In their second game, the Huskies will face either Hulett, the No. 2 from the East, or Little Snake River, a team that has been highly ranked all season but has yet to cross paths with the Huskies.
Going in, Davidson said Little Snake River is an impressive team, saying “They are very quick, great outside shooters. If they are all hitting, and running on all cylinders, they could play with anyone.”
Midwest “is the team that has been doing well over there on that side of the state,” said Davidson.
If the two teams win out, they’d meet in the championship game, which will be played at approximately 5 p.m. after the 2A girls title game.
After all the injuries of the past couple weeks, Davidson is eager to get his team back to full strength.
For four of this year’s team members, there remain vivid memories of last year’s second-place finish.
“They would like to see a different outcome, for sure,” Davidson said.
The keys to success are limiting turnovers and not playing “tight,” according to the coach.
Burlington 62, Encampment 28
BURLINGTON — Eric McNiven 8, Sam Davidson 12, Shawn Christiansen 8, Tim Davidson 6, Porter Jones 2, Ammon Howard 9, Anson George 8, Daniel Davidson 11. Totals 27-60 10-15 64.
REBOUNDS — Burlington 29 (S. Davidson 6). STEALS — Burlington 11 (Christiansen 4). ASSISTS — Burlington 9 (McNiven 3). TURNOVERS — Burlington 12.
Burlington 74, Ten Sleep 41
BURLINGTON — McNiven 15, Christiansen 1, T. Davidson 14, P. Jones 15, Howard 7, George 6, D. Davidson 6, Zach Lash 1, S. Jones 4, Landon Tolman 5. Totals 30-70 10-23 74.
3-POINT GOALS — Howard 2, S. Jones, Tolman. REBOUNDS — Burlington 45 (T. Davidson 10). ASSISTS — Burlington 8 (Christiansen 5). STEALS — Burlington 15 (T. Davidson 4). TURNOVERS — Burlington 17.
Burlington 72, St. Stephens 62
BURLINGTON — McNiven 13, S. Davidson 21, Christiansen 7, T. Davidson 9, P. Jones 3, Howard 8, George 1, D. Davidson 7, S. Jones 3. Totals 23-44 23-37 72.
3-POINT GOALS — Christiansen, Howard, S. Jones. REBOUNDS — Burlington 40 (S. Davidson 12). ASSISTS — Burlington 7 (S. Davidson 2). STEALS — Burlington 12 (Christiansen 3). TURNOVERS — Burlington 13.