| 3/24/2009 | Final Summary For the Year
8th Grade Boys Basketball
End of Year Write-Up
A few weeks have passed since the end of the season, as I write this summary, and I have had some time to think about the positives of what we accomplished over the season's course. Like most years, there are always parts of the game that a coach can wish that we accomplished a little more skillfully – like sliding through picks better, or rotating on help side defense. This year was no exception – but as I look back from a little distance, I see the mainly the successful things we did accomplish, and these were many.
First, we played every game “tight” but one. Only Scottsbluff really “jammed our gears.” In all other games, we were competitive, and had a chance to win down near the end. Secondly, we played exciting basketball. Not only were three of our losses by four points or less, but a number of our wins were fairly close as well. Thirdly, we did not lose to a Wyoming school, beating Glenrock and Douglas twice each, and also defeating Wheatland along the way. Fourthly, we revenged an earlier loss at the hands of Alliance, NE, by defeating them in the tournament.
While all these win-loss aspects of the game were important, I think we learned a number of things character-wise as well. When things needed a little boost, on several occasions one or more of the young men came to me in a respectful manner and suggested some things they thought would help us. In several cases, their suggestions did help us on the court, but I was more impressed by their ability to communicate with me in a mature manner. I believe these are examples of the leadership skills they will show in the future.
I also want to express my gratitude to Coach Bugher for his work with the 8B team, and also for picking up the loose ends for me this year. Additionally, I must thank Mr. Cotant for all he does for the athletic program each year. This year, that included new reversible uniforms that really upgraded our appearance at games. His communication and guidance helps keep TMS pursuing a true middle school philosophy of sports.
Finally and most importantly, I want to thank the young men who put their time and energy into representing TMS in basketball. I believe that we did a good job of that, and I look forward to seeing how these young men’s high school careers develop.
On the 8th grade boys basketball website are game summaries of most “B” games and all “A” games for the year. These will give the reader a report of those who achieved highly in each game. There are also pictures that are downloadable there, and will be until Thanksgiving of 2009. Feel free to save some to your computer to keep for later years, and also to cut and paste game reports to your scrapbook, or online resource.
Sincerely,
Mr. Burrill for 8th Grade Basketball
|  | | 2/21/2009 | Torrington 8A defeats Glenrock 51 - 34. In a game that was still close in the third quarter, Torrington 8A defeated the Glenrock Herders 51 - 34. Torrington pressed the entire contest, causing numerous Glenrock miscues. Blake Wisroth led the Blazers with 18 points, including 3 3 point baskets. Cameron Kelly had 15 points, and also had 3 3point baskets. Kolter Elder added 9 points, Garett Derr had 4 points, Nick Prusia 3 points, and Josh Ring 2 points. The Blazers hit 7 of 12 from the free throw line. The Blazer score by quarters was 18 - 6 - 16 - 11. The Blazers were outscored by Glenrock only in the second quarter, when the Herders scored ten points to make the contest close for a while. With the win, Torrington moved on to play the Douglas 8A team in the championship game, and Glenrock fell into the third place game against Wheatland. | | | 2/21/2009 | In their final game in TMS 8th grade basketball, the TMS 8A Blazers defeated the Douglas Bear Kitties 42 - 29. TMS got off to a slow start, leading by only one point, 5 - 4 after one quarter. The Blazers opened up a seven point lead at half time, and continued to pull away throughout the remainder of the contest, winning the scoring duel in every quarter. The box score for this contest was perhaps the most well-rounded of the year, as Cameron Kelly led the Blazers with 16 points; Blake Wisroth had 9; Kolter Elder, 6; Dalton Smith and Garrett Derr, 5 points each; Nick Prusia rounded out the scoring with one point. The Blazers were 8 of 14 at the charity stripe for the contest. At times, the fatigue of playing two games in one day showed in the shooting of both teams. With the win, the Blazers captured the Eastern Wyoming 3A Middle School 8A Championship. Congratulations Blazers! | | | 2/17/2009 | 8A loses to Gering 43- 40. In a game that was hotly contested till the final moments, TMS 8A fell to Gering 8A 43 -40. The game was a game of runs, with Gering making the first, to run out 7 - 2. TMS responded with a run of their own, and led 15 - 11 after one quarter. The lead ballooned to 9 points, 28 - 19 at half time. As the second half began, the lead for TMS increased to eleven. However, after the half-way point of period three, Gering crept back into the game, and by pressing for the last five minutes of the game, retook the lead, then stalled for the last minute and a half, and TMS was forced to foul. TMS was led by Blake Wisroth and Cameron Kelly with 15 points apiece; Garrett Derr, Kolter Elder, Nick Prusia and Josh Ring each had 2 points to round out the scoring. 8A will next play on Saturday morning at the Eastern Wyoming 3A eighth grade tournament against the winner of Newcastle - Glenrock. | | | 2/16/2009 | Torrington 8A Blazers defeat Alliance 54 - 47. The Torrington 8A Blazers defeated the Alliance 8A Bulldogs in the first round of the West Nebraska Middle School tournament on Monday night. The tournament features seven minute quarters, and the Blazers spent a good share of the evening in foul trouble. Additionally, the Blazers had difficulty covering the weak side of the court in zone defense, allowing Alliance some easy looks at the basket. However, when the "chips were down," the Blazers ran ahead, and then held the ball to run the clock out. Blake Wisroth led the Blazers with 29 points. Cameron Kelly added 16 points, including four for four from the free throw stripe. Garrett Derr had five points, all coming at a critical time of the fourth quarter. Kolter Elder was four for eight from the line for four points, and Dalton Smith added two points. The Blazers face a rematch with Gering at 7:45 on Tuesday night. | | | 2/12/2009 | Torrington 8A loses to Gering in a tale of two halves. The Torrington 8A Blazers led Gering 22-15 at the half, but scored only five points in the second half to lose 39 - 27. A third qaurter in which the Blazers did not score a point followed by a quarter in which they scored only five points spelled demise in this game. Blake Wisroth and Cameron Kelly each tallied eight points for the Blazers, Kolter Elder had six points, and Garrett Derr five points. The loss to Gering finished the Blazers regular season with a 3 - 4 record. Of the four losses, two were by four points or fewer, including a previous loss to Gering. | | | 2/10/2009 | Torrington 8A defeats Douglas 8A 39 - 31. In a game in which the Torrington Blazers were able to score repeatedly from near the basket, TMS defeated Douglas by 8 points. Bothered only occasionally by Douglas's 1-2-1-1 press, the Blazers remained slightly ahead most of the contest. After pulling ahead by twelve early in the fourth quarter, the Blazers ran a number of minutes off the clock. Douglas scored a couple of quick late baskets to reduce the deficit to eight points. Blake Wisroth led the Blazers wtih 16 points and Cameron Kelly added ten. Kolter Elder had six points in the third quarter, with Garrett Derr chipping in five points. Dalton Smith scored two points on a pair of banked-in free throws. Blake Wisroth led the team in rebounding with five, and Dalton Smith contributed four. The Blazers are currently awaiting word on their opponent for Monday (2/16/09) Western Nebraska Middle School Tournament. The Blazer record for tournament is 3 - 3. | | | 2/10/2009 | Torrington 8B loses to Douglas 8B 42 - 27. The Torrington 8B team dropped a decision to the Douglas Bearkits on Tuesday night in which they were plagued by turnovers, fell behind early, and never caught up. The Blazers were led in scoring by Drew Banhaf with 8 points. Gabe Teniente added six points, Austin Murphy had 3 points, and Isidro Cortez, Dalton Smith, and Josh Ring each added two points. The 8B Blazers were 0 for 7 from the free throw line. | | | 2/10/2009 | Torrington 8C defeats Douglas 8C. Unfortunately, stats were not available on this game. The coaches and managers will do better in keeping score when we play 8C against Douglas. | | | 2/3/2009 | Torrington 8B defeats Alliance 8B 22 - 8. In a game in which the "B" squad slowly pulled away, Torringotn 8B earned the win against Alliance 8B. Evan Ponce led the scoring with 8 points. Isidro Cortez had 5 points, and Clayton Paules three points. Dalton Smith, Gabe Teniente, and Josh Ring each tallied two on the night. The 8B team will play the first game at Douglas on 2 10 09 | | | 2/3/2009 | The Torrington 8A Blazers were defeated by the 8A Alliance Bulldogs in a defensive struggle that ended with the Blazers on the short end of a 23 - 19 score. The Blazers were led in scoring by Blake Wisroth, who had 14 points. Garrett Derr had 3 points, and Kolter Elder two points. Torrington 8A had a number of chances to score from beneath the basket, and did not convert many of these opportunities. Blake Wisroth had 4 rebounds, and Nick Prusia had 4 rebounds as well. The 8A team will play the second game at Douglas on 2 10 09. | | | 2/3/2009 | Torrington 8C loses to Alliance C 30-15. Trae Travitz had 5 points, James Ottman 4 points, Lisandro Velez-Durham, Eddie Stoeger and Austin Reichert had 2 ponts each in the loss to Alliance. Torrington 8C will play the nightcap game next Tuesday night against Douglas. | | | 1/31/2009 | Torrington 8B defeats Glenrock 30 - 16. The Blazers slowly pulled away throughout the game, almost achieving the fifteen point lead Coach Bugher set as a goal. Drew Banzhaf led the team in scoring with nine points. Evan Ponce had seven points, Gabe Teniente 4 points, and Austin Murphy, James Ottman, Jose Martinez and Isidro Cortez each had two points. | | | 1/31/2009 | In a game that featured a little bit of everything, the Torrington 8A Blazers held on to defeat the Glenrock Herders 41 - 37. Starters Kolter Elder and Cameron Kelly spent extended time on the bench with foul trouble. Cameron finally fouled out with 15 seconds left. The Blazers were led in scoring by Blake Wisroth with 21 points. Cameron Kelly added 14 points. Kolter Elder had four points, and Nick Prusia and Garrett Derr had two points apiece. (I know that doesn't add up to 41, but I also know that Elder, Prusia and Derr had the points I show. I am not sure where the mistake is). Blake Wisroth had 7 rebounds, Nick Prusia had five, and Kolter Elder four. Blake Wisroth and Garrett Derr had two steals each. Mr. Burrill was happy that we did most of our scoring near the basket. He was less pleased with the rebounding, as Glenrock got several second shots. Despite the problems, 8A hung in and won. Congratulations on the win! | | | 1/27/2009 | Torrington 8B loses to Scottsbluff 8B 23 - 42. The Torrington 8B dropped a decision to the Scottsbluff Bearcats that was never in doubt. Coach Bugher implored the team to run their offense at half time, when they were behind 25 to 9, and they responded with a better second half. Leading the Blazers in scoring were Clayton Paules with 8 points, followed by Evan Ponce with 7 points. Also scoring were Gabe Teniente and Drew Banzhaf with four points a piece. | | | 1/27/2009 | Torrington 8A drops lop-sided decision to Scottsbluff 8A. Torrington 8A played one good half and one poor half against their rivals from Scottsbluff. At the end of half one, the score was 23 - 18 in Scottsbluff's favor. In the third quarter the Blazers fell into a hole by scoring only four points while Scottsbluff scored sixteen. Blake Wisroth had eleven points in the loss; Cameron Kelly tallied ten. Kolter Elder had seven points, Nick Prusia, Josh Ring, and Garrett Derr two points each. Blake Wisroth had three rebounds, and Kolter Elder three. Garrett Derr also had two rebounds. | | | 1/21/2009 | Torrington B wins 45 to 41 over Wheatland 8B - Drew Banzhaf led the Torrington 8B with 12 Points, Isidro Cortez added 10 Points, Gabe Teniente 9 points, Evan Ponce 8 Points as Torrington B defeated the Wheatland Bulldogs. Also scoring were Jose Martinez with 4 points and Austin Murphy with 2 points. Torrington B was 2/7 from the free throw line. Gabe Teniente led the team in rebounding with 12 rebounds, and Evan Ponce had 7 rebounds. Gabe Teniente also led the team with three steals. | | | 1/21/2009 | Torrrington 8A defeats Wheatland 55 - 48. In a game that was even closer than the score indicates, the Torrington 8A Boys defeated Wheatland. The Blazers were led in scoring by Cameron Kelly with 23 points. Blake Wisroth added 20. Garrett Derr had 6, Nick Prusia 4, Kolter Elder 2 and Dalton Smith 2 to round out the scoring. The Blazers were 9/19 at the free throw line. Blake Wisroth led the Blazers in rebounding with 8 rebounds. Kolter Elder had 5 rebounds, as did Nick Prusia. The Blazers led 29 - 18 at the end of the first half, but lost focus and actually fell behind when outscored 18 - 6 in the third quarter. Fortunately, the team regained its composure, and with pressure defense took advantage of turnovers to defeat the Bulldogs. The team will be back in action on the 27th at Scottsbluff. | | | 1/17/2009 | Torrington 8B loses 42 - 38 to Gering B. Torrington B dropped a hard fought game in which 16 different players saw action. Austin Murphy and Evan Ponce led the Blazers by scoring 6 points a piece. Gabe Teniente had four points and Clayton Paules three points. | | | 1/17/2009 | Torrington 8A drops heartbreaker, 38 - 35. The Torrington 8A led almost the entire game before falling on a shot in the last ten seconds. Blake Wisroth totalled 20 points on the night; Cameron Kelly had 9 points. Nick Prusia added 4 points, and Dalton Smith and Josh Ring each had 2 points. Blake Wisroth had 5 rebounds, Nick Prusia had four rebounds. Blake Wisroth and Cameron Kelly each had three assists. An area of weakness for the team was turnovers, where 16 were logged in the stat sheet. | |
One Last Championship Picture for both 8A and 8B, and uniform turn in We will have one more team picture for both 8A and 8B with the traveling championship trophy after school on February 25, 2009, and then athletes will turn in their uniforms. All team members should plan to attend. We want pictures with the trophy for the paper, etc.
Thanks
Mr. Burrill
Brackets, Instructions, etc. This is a summary written up by Mr. Burrill following the conclusion of the season. |
| No "Team Members" exist(s) | |
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