Burlington Huskies see season end at regionals

Burlington’s boys basketball season came to a disappointing end with two losses at the Class 1A West Regional tournament in Lander over the weekend. 

The Huskies faced Saratoga for the third time this season in their first game. The Panthers had won both previous games. Burlington led 17-14 after one, but Saratoga went on a run in the second, building a 12-point lead at one point before going into the half with a three-point lead. 

The third quarter was an exciting battle with both teams putting up some big numbers and ended with Saratoga up by two points. The Huskies pulled ahead in the fourth quarter, but Saratoga rallied, sending the game to overtime tied at 70 apiece. Saratoga took control and the Huskies fell 82-76.

Joe Bassett led scoring with 20 points and three steals. Jordan Michaels was close behind with a double-double: 19 points and 10 rebounds. 

The loss moved the Huskies into the losing side of the bracket, where they met up with Ten Sleep. Ten Sleep showed up to play and stayed close to the Huskies throughout the first half, but Burlington outscored the Pioneers 15-5 in the third and despite a strong fourth quarter from both teams, the Huskies won 69-51. 

Casey McNiven led with 20 points and two steals and Bassett had a strong game and finished with a double-double 14 points and 12 rebounds. 

The win advanced the Huskies to another head-to-head with Meeteetse. Both previous match ups had been tight wins for Meeteetse. The Longhorns jumped out to a quick lead and held the lead for the majority of the first half, but the Huskies again chipped away and outscored Meeteetse in the second to lead by one at halftime. The second half remained close, with Meeteetse going on a run and Burlington catching up a couple of different times but the fourth quarter remained even tighter, with the lead going back and forth. With just 1:16 remaining and the score tied up again, the Huskies successfully worked 66 seconds off the clock. With just 9.8 seconds left, Bassett made a free throw, putting the Huskies up by 1 point, but a made basket by the Longhorns and made free throw led to a heartbreaking loss for the Huskies, 58-56. 

Weston Gotfredson, C. McNiven and Michaels each added in 13 points and Bassett ended the tournament with another double-double 12 points and 12 rebounds. 

“Obviously not the ending to our season that we wanted,” said Coach Kirby Winland. “Two games at regionals we lost by one possession here or there. It’s always heartbreaking when you lose out and don’t make it to state, especially when you have the seniors we do. They are such great young men, they are going to be missed by our program but will go on to do great things with their lives. Hopefully, one of the messages we take away from this year’s experience is how much it hurts to not get to go to state and have a shot at the dance. Hopefully this will motivate our players to get in the gym this summer and put in some work.”

Saratoga 14 22 24 10 12 — 82

Burlington 17 16 25 12 6 — 76

BURLINGTON — Bassett 8-15 4-4 20, Michaels 9-18 0-0 19, C. McNiven 5-13 0-0 11, Perez 3-5 0-0 8, Gotfredson 3-6 0-0 6, McNulty 2-4 0-0 5, Casey 2-3 0-0 4, Andrew 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 33-68 5-6 76. 

3-POINT GOALS — Michaels 1, C. McNiven 1, McNulty 1. REBOUNDS — Burlington 25 (Michaels 10). STEALS — Burlington 9 (Bassett 3). ASSISTS — Burlington 13 (McNulty 6). TURNOVERS — Burlington 19. 

Ten Sleep 11 15 5 20 — 51

Burlington 13 19 15 22 — 69 

BURLINGTON — C. McNiven 7-13 3-4 20, Bassett 6-10 2-4 14, Gotfredson 4-6 2-2 10, Casey 2-6 3-6 9, H. McNiven 2-4 4-6 8, McNulty 2-7 0-0 4, Andrew 1-2 0-0 2, Wardell 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-54 14-22 69. 

3-POINT GOALS — C. McNiven 3, Casey 2. REBOUNDS — Burlington 40 (Bassett 12, Gotfredson 8, Andrew 8). STEALS — Burlington 12 (C. McNiven, Andrew, Michaels, Perez 2). ASSISTS — Burlington 7. TURNOVERS — Burlington 21. 

Meeteetse 20 11 14 13 — 58

Burlington 14 18 14 10 — 56 

BURLINGTON — Gotfredson 4-6 5-6 13, C. McNiven 4-6 4-6 13, Michaels 5-11 2-4 13, Bassett 4-12 4-8 12, Andrew 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 19-45 16-26 56. 

3-POINT GOALS — C. McNiven 1, Michaels 1. REBOUNDS — Burlington 38 (Bassett 12). STEALS — Burlington 4. ASSISTS — Burlington 3. TURNOVERS — Burlington 19.