Both games of a Laramie High girls and boys basketball doubleheader came down to the final seconds against Kelly Walsh Friday night at Plainsmen Gym.
The Plainsmen and Trojans went to overtime before Laramie prevailed 62-61 to keep Laramie undefeated at 5-0. Kelly Walsh dropped to 0-5 while trying to post its first win.
The Lady Plainsmen lost 56-55 to fall to 3-2 on the young season. The Lady Trojans notched their first win for a 1-4 record.
Plainsmen
Down seven points with just over 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, LHS junior Trey Enzi hit a 3-pointer and converted a layup on the next possession to pull the Plainsmen to within two points at 54-52.
LHS sophomore Mahlon Morris tied the game at 54 with a layup and sophomore Jaedyn Brown hit a jumper for a 56-54 Plainsmen lead with about a minute left. Kelly Walsh’s Trenton Walker converted a bucket to send the game to overtime.
Overtime was tight with several lead changes; the final lead change came when Enzi scored inside for a 62-60 lead. After three misses, and the first two being offensive rebounds for Kelly Walsh, Enzi came up with the third rebound and was fouled with 1.2 left on the clock. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the line, and the rebound went to Kelly Walsh’s Esaias Spillane, whose long heave at the buzzer fell short.
Morris led LHS with 18 points, Brown added 16 points and Enzi finished with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for the double-double.
“To start with, I thought (Kelly Walsh) played really well. They shot the heck out of it, I think making 9 of 13 3’s in the first half,” Plainsmen coach Jim Shaffer said during a KOWB 1290 AM postgame interview. “… Some of those were contested shots.
“But the thing I’m most proud of is that we were down nine, we have some adversity for the first time this year and we battled back. We made plays, and made enough plays to win a basketball game.”
The Trojans were led by Collin Boroz’s 15 points. Gunnar Brown added 13, and Caden Allaire had 10.
The Plainsmen will host Rock Springs at 2:30 p.m. today.
Lady Plainsmen
In a game featuring runs by both teams throughout, the Lady Plainsmen seemed in control with a 14-point lead in the third quarter after a 12-4 run put LHS ahead 38-24.
But Kelly Walsh starting hitting from beyond the arc to chip away for a 13-2 run to close the gap to three points at 40-37.
LHS sophomore Emily Gardner and senior Kylee Cox temporarily halted the run with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 46-37 difference at the end of the third quarter.
But the overall momentum for the Lady Trojans carried over into the fourth quarter as they outscored the Lady Plainsmen 19-9 in the final period. It was capped by the winning layup from Barrett Lloyd with just under a minute left.
“I’m proud of my girls in that they play hard from start to finish,” Lady Plainsmen coach Nick Darling said during a KOWB 1290 AM postgame interview. “Obviously, the execution was lacking in the fourth quarter and parts of the third.”
Freshman Addison Forry led Laramie with 17 points, Cox added 15 and junior Morgann Jenson had 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior DaiJane Giron led LHS on the glass with nine rebounds.
Kelly Walsh was led by Cydney Eskew’s 16 points and Logann Alvar had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lady Plainsmen will host Rock Springs at 1 p.m. today.
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