The Kemmerer High School boys’ hoops team haven’t won a game on the road since December, and those struggles continued over the weekend, with back-to-back conference losses at Wyoming Indian and St. Stephens.

Friday’s game at Wyoming Indian was a much closer affair than the 76-43 beating the Rangers endured on their home floor last month, with Kemmerer overcoming a 12-point deficit late against the Chiefs to have a shot at sending the game into overtime before falling 55-52.

The Rangers were hoping to regroup and earn the season sweep Saturday against St. Stephens, but the Eagles had other plans for their visitors, overcoming a large deficit of their own to send Kemmerer home with a 77-67 loss.

“Turnovers were an issue in both games,” said KHS head coach Matt Stewart. “We had 24 against Wyoming Indian, then turned around the next night and had 26 against St. Stephens. We did much better at the free throw line against St. Stephens 

— we just didn’t take care of the ball.”

The losses drop the Rangers 6-13 on the season (1-4 in 2A SW Quadrant), with Friday’s regular-season finale against quadrant rival Big Piney loaded with playoff implications.

“We talked in the locker room after the game — we have to do a better job of keeping our composure,” Stewart said. “We still have an opportunity to get the No. 3-seed — if we can beat Big Piney on Friday, we can guarantee the 3-seed. So we have to take care of business against Big Piney.”

Taking care of Big Piney (8-12, 3-2 in 2A SW Quadrant) will be easier said than done — the Punchers won the first meeting of the two teams 61-56 last month, and taking care of the ball — as well as playing tough defense — will be key for the Rangers, according to Stewart. The team would like nothing better than to honor their seniors on Senior Night with a win.

“We’ll work a lot on taking care of the ball,” Stewart said. “The last time we played Big Piney, I think we only had 11 turnovers — we just didn’t shoot very well. If we get our guys going offensively like they played this weekend, we should be in good shape. But we definitely need to work on the defensive end, what we’re going to do to contain their outside shooters, see if we can pressure them a little bit more.”

Wyoming Indian 55, Rangers 52

There was little about Friday’s second conference meeting between the Rangers and Wyoming Indian (18-5, 6-0 in 2A SW Quadrant) that resembled the first, a 76-43 rout by the Chiefs on Kemmerer’s home floor.

That said, the result was the same, though the Rangers showed grit and temerity, overcoming a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to pull within three, before running out of clock, 55-52.

“The Wyoming Indian game especially, I thought our boys played really well,” said KHS head coach Matt Stewart. “We were down by 12 points at one point in the fourth quarter — we battled back to pull within three. We had an opportunity at the end of the game to try to get something off, I don’t know what happened. But we didn’t end up getting a shot off.”

The Chiefs held a 24-19 lead at the break, and pushed that lead to 42-31 by the end of the third. Not content to roll over, Kemmerer dropped 21 points in the fourth quarter, though their hosts were able to hold on for the win.

“The Wyoming Indian game was frustrating for us,” Stewart said. “We talked after about what else could I have done — should we have called a timeout [with their final possession] and set something up. But there are risks there, as well — they might throw something at you you’re not prepared for.”

Continuing to be a double-double machine for the Rangers, Chase Bowen led the team with 23 points and 18 rebounds; he also led the team in steals, with four. Ethyn Perkins finished with 11 points, to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Gabe Wiswell also scored in double figures, netting 10 points. Skyler Rogers rounded out the scoring with eight points, to go along with nine rebounds and three assists.

The Rangers won the battle of the boards 41-36, though turnovers and 37 percent shooting at the charity stripe were tough to overcome.

“Overall, I thought we played really well against Wyoming Indian,” Stewart said. “We outrebounded them this time around, so that was a positive. Our biggest concern was turnovers and free throws — We shot 7-of-19 from the line. We make half of those we missed, and we win that game. That was a little heartbreaking for us.”

St. Stephens 77, Rangers 67

In search of the season sweep against St. Stephens (5-9, 1-5 in 2A SW Quadrant) Saturday, the Rangers seemed to be well on their way, holding a 37-32 lead at the break, and pushing that lead to 16 points late in the third quarter.

The wheels came off in dramatic fashion for the Rangers in the final three minutes of the third, however, and with all the momentum heading into the final frame, the Eagles were able to complete the comeback and earn their first conference win of the season, 77-67.

“The St. Stephens game was a tough one for us,” Stewart said. “We actually had a 16-point lead with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Chase Bowen got into some foul trouble, so I pulled him out, and by the end of the third, they had cut the lead to one. I put Chase back in during the fourth, but we continued to turn the ball over.”

Turnovers were again the Rangers’ downfall, with 26 on the game, compared to 17 for St. Stephens.

“In that last three minutes of the third quarter, I think we had about six turnovers that turned into buckets for them,” Stewart said. “That’s how they made their comeback. We started to get a little momentum back in the fourth, but St. Stephens hit some big shots — they have a couple of kids that shoot really well from the 3-point line. We missed some free throws late that would have kept us close. Hats off to that St. Stephens team — they battled with us. It’s just frustrating, giving up a 16-point lead that late in the game.”

The Rangers finished with three players in double figures for the second straight game, led by another double-double by Chase Bowen: 27 points, to go along with 16 rebounds. Ethyn Perkins followed with 17 points, while Gabe Wiswell rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Skyler Rogers chipped in five points, while Kaden Witbeck and Cage Bowen added four points and three points, respectively. Kane Jimenez hit a free throw to close out the scoring.