The Kemmerer High School boys’ basketball team saw their state hopes come to an end earlier this month at the 2A West Regional Tournament in Riverton, posting a 1-2 record.

After a 52-31 loss to Rocky Mountain in the opening round, the Rangers battled back in a big way Friday against Greybull, taming the Buffalos 54-45.

With a berth in last weekend’s 2A State Tournament in Casper on the line Saturday against Thermopolis, Kemmerer was unable to duplicate the magic of the day before, falling to the Bobcats 63-27. The loss ended the Rangers’ season, though KHS head coach Matt Stewart was pleased with his team’s performance overall.

“Rocky Mountain is a team that’s gotten a lot better since last season, and I was really happy with how we played against Greybull,” Stewart said. “Thermopolis — well, they’re as good as advertised, so that was a tough team to play in a loser-out game. But I thought we did a lot of things well, overall.”

Stewart said the mood was somber following Saturday’s loss to Thermopolis, though the team rallied around its two seniors — Gabe Wiswell and Ethyn Perkins.

“Everybody was happy they had the opportunity to play with those two seniors,” Stewart said. “Then you start to think about next year, and what are some of the things we need to do in the offseason to get better. The younger kids brought up that we need to get stronger, so we talked about getting into the weight room, things like that — spending as much time together as we can as a team to create that team unity.”

Three Rangers received postseason honors over the weekend, with seniors Perkins and Wiswell and sophomore Cage Bowen named to the 2A Southwest All-Conference team; Wiswell was also named to the 2A West All-Region team.

Rocky Mountain 52, Rangers 31

The Rangers had a tough draw to open the 2A West Tournament, squaring off against No. 2-seed Rocky Mountain. The Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run to start the game, forcing Kemmerer to play catch-up for the three remaining periods in the 52-31 loss.

“We tried to prepare for Rocky Mountain the best we could, but they ran a 2-3 zone and a half-court trap that we struggled with,” Stewart explained. “We didn’t handle it very well.”

Ethyn Perkins paced the Rangers with 11 points, followed by Bryson McGill and Gabe Wiswell with eight points apiece; McGill also grabbed nine rebounds. Cage Bowen rounded out the scoring with four points, to go along with nine rebounds.

Rangers 54, Greybull 45

The Rangers squared off against Greybull in the second round of the 2A West Tourney, outplaying the Buffalos for three of the four quarters, en route to a 54-45 win.

“The Greybull game went a little bit better for us,” Stewart said. “We changed some things up offensively — they pressed us, but we handled it better a lot better than we did the night before. We shot the ball very well, and it was a game we led from start to finish. It was good for us to get that win.”

Three Rangers finished in double figures, led by a 16-point, five rebounds, three assists performance from Bryson McGill. Cage Bowen recorded a double-double, netting 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Sam Thatcher finished with 10 points.

Ethyn Perkins added seven points — to go along with six assists — while Bennett Pollard chipped in four points. Gabe Wiswell rounded out the scoring with three points, while dishing off six assists.

Thermopolis 63, Rangers 27

Against Thermopolis in Saturday’s loser-out contest, the Rangers got off to a solid start, though Bobcats outscored Kemmerer in the second and third quarters by a combined score of 44-9, putting the game out of reach. The Rangers ended the season with a 63-27 loss.

“That’s not a team you want to face in a loser-out situation,” Stewart said. “They’re a really good team — they had a battle the night before in a loss to Wyoming Indian in the semifinals, and took their frustrations out on us. We were only down by six after the first quarter, but after that, they put a press on us, and we didn’t handle it very well.”

Ethyn Perkins and Gabe Wiswell led the team in scoring with seven points apiece, followed by six points from Cage Bowen. Bryson McGill added four points, while Sam Thatcher rounded out the scoring with three points.

“We didn’t shoot well, and we turned the ball over way too much,” Stewart said. “That seemed to be the theme of our season. It was a tough way to end the season.”