CASPER — The Laramie boys have gone from fighting to keep their season alive to playing for the Class 4A state championship.
The Plainsmen (15-13) shot 21-for-37 (56.8%) from the floor, including an 11-of-18 mark (61.1%) from behind the 3-point line to beat Cody 67-44 in the semifinals Friday night at the Wyoming Center in Casper.
Laramie – which last played in a state championship game in 2011 – had 16 assists on their 21 made baskets to pick up their sixth victory in their past seven games.
“It was a mix of good passing and good chemistry that led to good team basketball,” sophomore Max Alexander said. “The hard work we’ve done all year has led us here. … We adjusted to whatever they showed us defensively and played great. It was a lot of fun.”
Laramie faces Cheyenne East (23-3) in the state title game at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Wyoming Center. The Thunderbirds have won all three of their meetings with Laramie this season.
Cody (14-11) started the game with a 7-3 lead. Max Alexander gave Laramie the lead for good with his 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. That was Alexander’s second triple of the game, and part of a 13-0 Laramie run.
The Broncs used both a 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defense in the early going before Laramie’s success from outside force them to switch to a man-to-man defense. The Plainsmen expected to see a zone Friday.
“We talked before the game about being spaced out and letting it come to us,” first-year Laramie coach Drew Evans said. “We wanted to make their zone work a little bit by staying as spaced as we could and making good passes. We were patient enough in those possessions and didn’t turn it over.
“When we worked, we got good shots. We knew they’d throw some junk at us, we had to recognize what they were in and execute.”
The Plainsmen held a pair of 17-point leads midway through the first half. The second of those came with 3:36 to play in the opening half when sophomore center Neil Summers passed out of a double team to senior Levi Brown on the left side. Brown made the 3-pointer to put Laramie up 36-19.
“We played great as a team, got off to a hot start and never looked back,” Brown said. “We got a lot of shots to go down from outside the arc and played great defense against them.”
Brown finished with a game-high 23 points on 5-for-9 shooting. He was 11-for-14 from the free-throw line, including 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter to help Laramie keep the game out of reach. Brown also dished out seven assists.
Alexander added 17 points, while Karson Busch netted 11.
Cody got 14 points and seven rebounds from Wilkins Radakovich. The Broncs shot 34.8% (16-for-46) on the night.
Laramie advanced to the state tournament by beating Cheyenne Central 47-44 in an East Regional elimination game. It earned the league’s No. 3 seed with a 61-58 victory over Campbell County.
“We have flipped a switch defensively the past three weeks,” Evans said. “We’re executing the scout, staying in front of our guy and limiting them to one shot. We look like a completely different team.”
LARAMIE 67, CODY 44
Cody............. 9 17 10 8 – 44
Laramie...... 19 23 11 14 – 67
Cody: Ball 0-1 2-2 2, Porter 3-4 1-1 7, L. Talich 3-9 0-0 6, Hatch 0-2 0-0 0, Johnston 0-3 0-0 0, McCarten 2-5 1-2 6, Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Boyd 0-1 0-0 0, Schroeder 0-3 0-0 0, Kiemann 2-10 4-4 9, Radakovich 6-8 2-4 14, Jarrett 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 16-46 10-14 44.
Laramie: Bangoura 0-0 0-0 0, Busch 4-6 0-0 11, Branch 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 5-9 11-14 23, McKinney 0-0 0-0 0, Alexander 5-10 2-4 17, Chavez 2-3 0-0 5, Smith 2-3 1-4 5, Ennist 0-0 0-0 0, Summers 3-6 0-0 6. Totals: 21-37 14-22 67.
3-pointers: Cody 2-14 (L. Talich 0-3, Hatch 0-2, Johnston 0-1, McCarten 1-2, Schroeder 0-3, Niemann 1-3); Laramie 11-18 (Busch 3-3, Brown 2-3, Alexander 5-10, Chavez 1-2). Rebounds: Cody 25 (Radkovich 7); Laramie 29 (Summers 7). Assists: Cody 3 (Three with 1); Laramie 16 (Brown 7). Turnovers: Cody 10 (McCarten 3); Laramie 9 (Chavez 3). Blocked shots: Cody 2 (Niemann, Radakovich); Laramie 1 (Busch). Steals: Cody 7 (McCarten 3); Laramie 7 (Brown 2, Summers 2). Team fouls: Cody 20, Laramie 15. Fouled out: Cody 1 (McCarten).
