Wranglers lose nail-biter in 1st conference game

Holly Dabb
Posted 1/25/19

With 31 seconds on the

clock in the fourth quarter, a 3-point shot

by Tyler Van Etten had the crowd on its feet

while watching the Wrangler boys’ basketball

team during the first conference game

of the season.

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Wranglers lose nail-biter in 1st conference game

Posted

With 31 seconds on the

clock in the fourth quarter, a 3-point shot

by Tyler Van Etten had the crowd on its feet

while watching the Wrangler boys’ basketball

team during the first conference game

of the season.

The shot tied the game between the

Mountain View Buffaloes and the Wranglers,

52-52. That energy was dashed when

Mountain View sank a final shot to with the

game with less than a second on the clock.

Wranglers’ Head Coach Eric Oran called

the match “a real dog fight.”

“At times we executed the game plan

well on defense, but they managed to get

a lot of buckets inside,” Oram said. “In the

third quarter, we attacked the basket and

started to play the perimeter.”

“Mountain View was a physical team

and it turned into a muscle match,” Oram

said.

On Saturday, Pinedale went on the road

to defeat Lyman, 55-49.

“We did a better job attacking the basket

against Lyman,” Oram said. “This was another

close game with a four to five-point

margin the whole game.

“Van Etten really stepped up with the

leadership in the fourth quarter,” Oram said.

“(Blake) Illoway had a great weekend

and continues to be our most consistent

player on offense.” He currently sits second

for the 3AWest region for scoring with an

average of 16.8 goals per game.

He is followed closely by teammate

Danny Gosar, who is fourth in the region

with 13.4 points per game.

The Wranglers have a 1-1 conference

record and 7-6 overall record, putting them

second in the region behind the undefeated

Mountain View.

After hosting cross-county rival Big

Piney on Jan. 24 – results were not available

at press time – the Wranglers will travel to

Star Valley On Saturday, Jan 25. The freshmen

play at 4 p.m., junior varsity plays at

5:30 p.m. and varsity starts at 7 p.m.

“Star Valley is a 4A school and we will

have to earn every minute of that game,”

Oram said. “Playing Star Valley will really

help us grow.”