Incredible Ending in Wyoming Five Star’s Game of the Week

A highly anticipated matchup between the last two champions of 2A Boys basketball collided again at Alfred Redman Gymnasium – already dubbed an “Instant Classic.” The Chiefs of Wyoming Indian took down the defending champions in overtime, logging another brilliant milestone in the growing saga of Chiefs/Bobcats lore. 

It was Chiefs senior HeeyeiNiitou Monroe-Black who carried Wyoming Indian to an incredible comeback. He finished with 30 points, but no bucket bigger than a game-winner with 13 seconds left in overtime. 

The contest featured 12 lead-changes, two 10-0 runs, 36 fouls, 29 free-throws, two buzzer-beaters, two tipoffs at center-court, four game-winner attempts, and one game-winning bucket. 

Almost as if we wrote the prediction afterward, the Game of the Week last evening in Ethete played out almost exactly as anticipated. Pre-Game Prediction from last Monday: “Edge: Chiefs 61-55 in OT” and the actual final score was 59-56 Chiefs in OT. 

Of course, you get lucky every now and then. The real story is just how physical, tense, and emotional this Chiefs/Bobcats matchup actually was. These two teams embodied the words hustle, relentlessness, effort, and healthy-desperation. 

Game Summary

The defending-champs from Thermopolis got out to an early lead in quarter-one. Zak Hastie got going early with 9 points in the opening frame, as the Bobcats jumped out to a 19-5 lead after eight minutes. He finished with 21 in the game. Trailing 5-4 in the early stretches, the Bobcats rattled off a 10-0 run to close the first period. 

The Chiefs finally got some consistent offense in the second quarter – Julius Robinson opened the floodgates with a three-ball in front of Thermop’s bench. Seconds later, fellow guard Parlayne Ferris drilled another three and the chase was on. 

HeeyeiNiitou Monroe-Black, the hero of the evening, did score the first four Wyoming Indian points of the night, but didn’t score again until midway through the second. He scored on three fade-away jumpers over Thermopolis big-men to tide over the Chiefs. 

Chiefs closed the gap down to four going into halftime. Truly, it was down to one point before halftime, but Zak Hastie buried a silencing-three-ball just before halftime to maintain the lead. Actually, at the beginning and end of quarters (and also out of timeouts), the Bobcats played very well. Shane Corpening dialed up several After Time Out (ATO) plays to punch back against the Chiefs runs.

Wyoming Indian kept the Bobcats off-balance all evening, rotating from 1-3-1 Zone defenses, back to man-to-man, with a variety of full-court presses. The Chiefs are famous for playing passing lanes, which was on full display last night. Even the best of programs can succumb to a degrading, oppressive full-court press that never quits. 

However, the Thermopolis backcourt handled it fairly well. Bobcat point-guard Ellis Webber played an excellent game, mixing a quick-twitch acceleration with confident ball-handling was Thermop’s only consistent press-breaker. 

Throughout the second half, the Bobcats energy began to fade while the Chiefs energy began to rise. Paired with one of the best home-court advantage Wyoming has to offer, the Wyoming Indian offense started to hum. Monroe-Black and Adriano Brown kept consistent pressure on the rim, and shooting-guards like Ferris, Robinson, and Jordan Black kept the floor spaced. 

The Bobcats squared up in man-to-man, showing they weren’t intimidated by the Chiefs attack. It was just a sensational performance by Monroe-Black. The Bobcats bigs (Brody Welch, Cody Bomengen) were starting to get into foul trouble, so it was all-steam-ahead for the Wyoming Indian dribble-drive offense. 

With 34 seconds remaining, Adriano Brown stole a Bobcat-inbounds pass, and streaked down court. The Chiefs were down two at the time, and Brown was fouled on the shot attempt. He sank both free-throws to tie the game at 56. The next possession, Brody Welch of Thermopolis fouled out on an illegal screen. 

The Chiefs were unable to convert with 25 seconds remaining. The Bobcats took their turn, but were also unable to convert (albeit three offensive rebounds at the buzzer). Overtime ensued.

Thermopolis’ Zak Hastie scored four straight points to go ahead by four, but Monroe-Black answered for the Chiefs. The Chiefs sank 5/6 free throws in overtime – the same amount they hit in the previous four quarters. And didn’t commit a single shooting foul in overtime, minimizing Thermopolis attempts at the line to zero. Wyoming Indian outscored the Bobcats 9-6 in OT. 

With 24 seconds left, Monroe-Black drove to the basket. A spin move, and fall-away hook shot dropped through the net. The Chiefs went up by two — the Bobcats had one final attempt, but Hastie’s jumper was errant. Mitchell C’Hair collected the rebound, and sank one courtesy free-throw, and missed the second free-throw as time expired.

Final Score: 59-56 Chiefs in OT

Quotes: 

Chiefs Coach, Craig Ferris: “These are the games that challenge you, and the games you want before conference and regional play. Thermopolis is a really good team, well coached. They’re disciplined, they’ve got size, length, and they gave us everything they had.” 

HeeyeiNiitou Monroe-Black: “[Thermopolis] was a really good team. They are well put together, and they know their roles. It feels good to win …  Losing to them at state last year, it was really hard. It feels really good to beat them again.” (WyoToday Media).