The Kemmerer High School boys’ basketball team opened its 2024-25 campaign on the road over the weekend, posting a 1-3 record at the Herder Classic in Glenrock and the Coal Miner’s Classic in Wright.

The Rangers opened play Friday afternoon with a 60-22 win over 1A Kaycee, followed by a 77-35 loss to host 3A Glenrock Friday evening. The Rangers then traveled to Wright for a pair of 2A contests Saturday, falling to the host team 69-29, then closing out the tournament with a 65-46 loss to Sundance.

“I think the weekend went about how I thought it was going to, being as young as we are, and inexperienced,” said KHS head coach Matt Stewart. “The first game, we came out against that Kaycee team and kind of got hot right off the bat, had some momentum the entire game. But I knew the next three games were going to be tough — Glenrock’s a much-improved team from the past couple of years, and we knew Wright was going to be tough. We didn’t know a lot about Sundance, but that eastern part of the state in 2A is pretty tough, and they showed that this weekend. But I think the weekend was a good learning opportunity for the boys — we saw a lot of things we need to improve on, and can get better at.”

Stewart also wanted to acknowledge the effort of the Rangers’ JV squad, who posted a perfect 4-0 record over the weekend, including a thrilling come-from-behind win over Glenrock.

“I wanted to shout out to our JV team — they did a really good job this weekend,” Stewart said. “They went 4-0 against those teams, and against Glenrock, they were down by 32 points and came back, tied it at the buzzer in regulation and ended up winning it in overtime. It was good to see those kids battle — get those freshmen thrown to the fire right away, and they responded in a big way.”

The Rangers are back on the road this weekend — albeit a little closer to home — competing at the Flaming Gorge Classic in Green River. Kemmerer will open the tournament against a tough 3A opponent in Pinedale, then square off against a pair of familiar foes in 3A Mountain View and St. Stephens, a team that’s dropped to 1A this season.

“Thursday, we’ve got Pinedale, which is another good 3A team,” Stewart said. “Friday, we play Mountain View, and then we finish off the tournament against St. Stephens, another team we’re pretty familiar with. Three pretty challenging games, so we’re excited to get back to work, and ready to go for Thursday.”

As for what the Rangers will be working on in practice this week, Stewart said they’ll continue to hammer away at the fundamentals.

“We have a lot to work on this week,” Stewart said. “One aspect is the mental side of it — being ready to go from the get go, not taking a couple of quarters to get settled in. Skillswise, a lot of rebounding and defensive concepts. We really need to work on that end of the floor, so defense will be a main focus. On offense, just fine tuning some things. We have some pretty challenging games coming up, so we need to get them ready for that.”

Rangers 60, Kaycee 22

Looking to open the 2024-25 season on a positive note, the Rangers did exactly that against Kaycee, beating the Buckaroos 62-44.

Kemmerer went on a 15-5 run to start the contest, and led 35-9 at the break. The Rangers’ defense proved stingy in the second half, as well, holding Kaycee to just 13 points.

“You never know how that first game is going to go — the boys came out, and they were aggressive, on both ends of the floor,” Stewart said. “Defensively, we were pretty solid, and very aggressive on offense, which I was happy to see. We had an opportunity to get a lot of the younger kids in and get some good minutes, and I saw a lot of good things from those kids. That was a good way for us to start the season.”

The Rangers finished with three players in double figures, led by Bryson McGill with 18 points, including two from behind the arc. Gabe Wiswell finished with 14 points, followed by Ethyn Perkins with 13 points. Wiswell recorded a double-double, pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds; he also dished off seven assists.

Kane Jimenez finished with four points, six rebounds and five assists in the winning effort; he also led the team in steals, with three.

Glenrock 77, Rangers 34

The Rangers ran into a buzzsaw of sorts in the form of host Glenrock following their win against Kaycee, falling to the Herders 77-34.

“Glenrock’s record over the last couple of years hasn’t been that great, but they have a new coach, and he’s got those boys firing on all cylinders,” Stewart said. “We got to see them play a little bit earlier in the day against Wyoming Indian, and they battled them — Glenrock’s big, they’re strong, they play fast and we just weren’t mentally ready for that.”

Ethyn Perkins paced the Rangers with nine points, followed by #12 with eight points and Gabe Wiswell with seven points. Bryson McGill led the team with seven rebounds to go along with his five points, while Kane Jimenez finished with three steals.

Turnovers were an issue, with the Rangers committing 21 for the game.

“We struggled with Glenrock’s defense — we didn’t take care of the ball very well and we didn’t shoot well,” Stewart said. “That was kind of the theme for the rest of the weekend.”

Wright 69, Rangers 29

The Rangers made the trek to Wright Saturday for the Coal Miner’s Classic, taking on the host team