Huskies headed to State

The Huskies went into the Class 1A West Regional as the top seed from the Northwest Conference and left with a third place and earning a trip to State. 

First up was Farson on Thursday. The Pronghorns got on the board first with a quick two, but the Huskies responded and never looked back. They led the rest of the game, with especially strong second and fourth quarters to win 59-28. 

M. James McNiven led the Huskies with 17 points, five rebounds and three steals. Kole Walker was not far behind with 14 points and five steals. Bitner Philpott led with 10 rebounds, seven steals and 10 points. 

Next up for Burlington was Saratoga, which was ranked third in 1A heading into regionals. In their first meeting at the beginning of the season, Saratoga pulled off the win in the fourth quarter and this proved to be another tight game, with multiple lead changes throughout. The fourth quarter started with Burlington up by three, but turnovers from the Huskies led to a Panther surge and the game ended with them winning 37-35.

Philpott led the Huskies with 15 points, four rebounds and five steals. 

The loss put Burlington in the losing side of the bracket, facing Meeteetse for the third time this season, with each team having won once. It was another tight game with multiple lead changes, but the Huskies dominated in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Longhorns 19-7 and earning the win 52-46. 

Philpott led with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals and Paul McNiven had 11 points, eight rebounds and five steals. 

That win secured the Huskies trip to state and landed them in the third-place game against Little Snake River. Burlington dominated, keeping the lead the entire game and winning 58-34. 

P. McNiven had 14 points, including four 3s, and two steals. M.J. McNiven had 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals. 

Burlington heads to the state tournament this weekend and will face Niobrara County (Lusk) on Thursday at noon at the Ford Wyoming Center. 

Farson-Eden  4    7   10   7 – 28

Burlington     10  17  13  19 – 59

BURLINGTON – M.J. McNiven 4-7 9-11 17, Walker 6-9 1-2 14, Philpott 3-13 4-6 10, Casey 2-3 0-0 5, J.W. McNiven 2-2 1-2 5, Tempany 2-5 0-0 4, Bassett 1-5 0-0 2, P. McNiven 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 21-53 15-21 59. 

3-POINT GOALS – Walker 1, Casey 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 24 (Philpott 10, M.J. McNiven 5). STEALS – Burlington 22 (Philpott 7, Walker 5, M.J. McNiven 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 7. TURNOVERS – Burlington 18. 

Saratoga    9   10    7  11 – 37 

Burlington  11   4  14    6 – 35 

BURLINGTON – Philpott 5-13 4-4 15, M.J. McNiven 3-5 2-2 8, Tempany 2-5 0-0 4, Walker 1-7 0-0 3, Bassett 1-3 0-0 2, K. Winters 1-1 0-0 2, P. McNiven 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 13-35 7-8 35. 

3-POINT GOALS – Philpott 1, Walker 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 23 (P. McNiven 7, Tempany 6, Philpott 4). STEALS – Burlington 14 (Philpott 5, Walker 4). ASSISTS – Burlington 8. TURNOVERS – Burlington 20. 

Meeteetse  11  14  14   7 – 46 

Burlington  16    7  10  19 – 52

BURLINGTON – Philpott 4-8 4-6 13, P. McNiven 4-8 2-2 11, Tempany 4-4 0-0 9, K. Winters 2-6 0-0 6, M.J. McNiven 1-9 2-6 5, Bassett 1-4 1-3 3, Walker 1-6 1-2 3, T. Winters 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 18-48 10-19 52. 

3-POINT GOALS – K. Winters 2, Philpott 1, P. McNiven 1, Tempany 1, M.J. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 27 (P. McNiven 8, Philpott 4, M.J. McNiven 4, Bassett 4, Walker 4). STEALS – Burlington 10 (P. McNiven 5, Philpott 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 6. TURNOVERS – Burlington 12. 

Little Snake River   9    8    8    9 – 34

Burlington             20  13  13  12 – 58 

BURLINGTON – P. McNiven 5-8 0-0 14, M.J. McNiven 6-9 1-2 13, Walker 4-5 0-0 10, Philpott 2-10 2-2 7, K. Winters 2-2 1-2 7, Bassett 1-2 1-2 3, T. Winters 1-4 0-0 2, Casey 0-0 1-2 1, Cook 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 21-40 7-12 58. 

3-POINT GOALS – P. McNiven 4, Walker 2, K. Winters 2, Philpott 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 30 (M.J. McNiven 8, Tempany 5, Philpott 4). STEALS – Burlington 11 (M.J. McNiven 4, Philpott 3, P. McNiven 2). ASSISTS – Burlington 6. TURNOVERS – Burlington 20.