Rebels lose to Farson, Little Snake River

The Riverside Rebels saw their season come to an end as last weekend’s Class 1A West Regional in Lander, losing their opener to Farson-Eden, 59-53, on Thursday and a loser-out battle with Little Snake River, 55-39, on Friday morning.

“It didn’t end as we hoped, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction,” said Coach Scott Winters, whose team finished 6-18.

Exhibit A in his moving-in-the-right-direction argument was Thursday’s game against Farson-Eden.

“We played good defense, rebounded the ball well and limited our turnovers ... unfortunately, we didn’t make enough shots to get the win,” he said.

The Rebels connected on just 31% of their field-goal attempts.

Hayden Paxton led the way with 21, followed by Josh Wildman and Hyson Hill with 11 apiece.

While lamenting a missed opportunity to win, Winters said, “it says a lot about our team being able to compete with one of the top teams in the state.”

The loss sent the Rebels into do-or-die matchup with Little Snake River. A slow start proved costly, as the Rebels trailed 36-10 at the half.

“We could not get any flow on the offensive end and they couldn’t miss shots on their end,” said Winters. “They went 8 for 12 on 3-pointers in the first half. We switched up our defensive coverages, but had the same result. “At halftime we had fallen into such a big hole a lot of our guys looked defeated and I wasn’t too optimistic we would be ready to finish the game strong. We were able to outscore them in the second half and chip away at the lead, but it was too much for us to ever really make a game out of it.”

Wildman paced the team in scoring with 13. Paxton added 11. They, along with fellow seniors Cooper Zierolf and Logan Saldana, will be missed next year, according to Winters.

“Hayden has played basketball all throughout high school and has improved every year,” said Winters. “He is a great example of what can happen when you put in the time in the offseason and stick with it. He is a leader on our team and a team captain. Hayden is our top scorer and rebounder and that comes from his work ethic. He pushes himself in practice to finish on the top of the drills that we do, always giving 100%. He sets the tone in games and plays with a lot of heart. He is also great in the locker room and keeps everyone motivated and focused on our goals and what we want to achieve as a team. I’m glad that I could have the opportunity to coach him. 

“Logan’s not the biggest or most athletic guy, but he always has a positive attitude. He doesn’t get frustrated easily and he continues to work at it even when he struggles with drills or other things we do in practice. This is his first year of high school basketball and he’s come a long way in his development. He is also a very funny guy. He brings comedic relief to the team and can make everyone crack a smile with some of the comments that he makes. He is coachable and fun to be around and I’m happy to have him on our team. 

“Josh has become a leader for our team. He does a great job of getting the ball down the floor quickly to set up our offense and giving us opportunities to score in transition. He is one of our top defenders and usually has the task of guarding the other team’s quickest players. He does a great job of pressuring their ball handlers. He is one of our best shooters, but also finds the open man for assists. Josh works hard in practice and pushes himself and his teammates to be better. He is always willing to do what we ask of him and is coachable. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to be his coach these last two years. 

“Cooper is the biggest energy guy on our team. He leads by example with his no quit attitude and giving it his all every possession. He isn’t afraid to do the little things like boxing out, communicating on defense, and hustling for loose balls. He has been a leader on the court for the young guys and has been a vocal leader off the varsity bench. He brings energy and enthusiasm and that’s exactly what we need. He knows his role and has been a joy to work with this season. He has a great sense of humor and has a positive attitude and that carries over to his teammates. I’m glad that he decided to play this season.”

Looking ahead to next year, Winters said, “I think the future is bright for Riverside basketball. We have a lot of returning starters, guys that were able to get a lot of experience this season, and a big group of eighth graders coming up. If they commit to putting the time in during the offseason, they have a lot of potential.”

Farson-Eden 8 18 11 22 — 59

Riverside 5 16 12 20 — 53

RIVERSIDE — Josh Wildman 3-14 4-5 11, Hyson Hill 4-12 3-4 11, Hayden Paxton 7-15 2-2 21, Avery Clifford 2-9 1-1 5, Wyatt Daly-Patterson 1-1 0-0 3, Ryder Kozisek 1-7 0-2 2. Totals 18-of-58 10-of-14 53.

3-POINT GOALS — Paxton 5, Wildman, Daly-Patterson. REBOUNDS — Riverside 29 (Paxton 9). STEALS — Riverside 4. ASSISTS — Riverside 8 (Paxton 3). TURNOVERS — Riverside 7.

Little Snake 15 21 9 10 — 55

Riverside 5  5 8 21 — 39

RIVERSIDE — Wildman 5-11 0-1 13, Hill 0-0 3-4 3, Paxton 4-11 1-5 11, Clifford 1-4 0-2 2, Daly-Patterson 2-2 1-2 6, Kozisek 1-6 1-1 3, Cooper Zierolf 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 13-of-37 7-of-17 39.

3-POINT GOALS — Wildman 3, Paxton 2, Daly-Patterson.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 20 (Paxton 12). STEALS — Riverside 4. ASSISTS — Riverside 3 (Paxton 3). TURNOVERS — Riverside 13.