Warriors keep on winning

WORLAND – After Worland's big win over 3A Northeast rival Buffalo on Friday, Worland boys basketball coach Aaron Abel didn't mince words when speaking about the test the Warriors would have with Cody coming to town on Saturday – calling it a potential trap game.

It looked like the coaches words would become a reality – at least in the first half – as the Broncs outplayed the Warriors through the first 16 minutes and held a 34-29 lead at halftime.

But Worland (12-3 overall, 3-0 3A Northeast) resiliency showed in the second half, quickly erasing the deficit and surging ahead of Cody (9-6, 2-1 3A Northwest) in the second half for a 62-54 win.

"They played really well to start, they certainly shot the ball wall. They had a couple role players – No. 23 Hunter Capron and No. 4 Zach Ross – who hit some 3-pointers for them. And with Cody, you kind of know (Blake) Hinze is going to get his 15 to 25 points," Abel said of Cody after the win on Saturday. "We did a good job on him and he still had 20. We stressed that we had to do a good job on the other four guys and we didn't do that to start out with – we came out flat in the first half.

"We expected it and tried to fight it, but we just couldn't I guess."

Senior Hoyt Nicholas added: "It was just another good team win. (We had) a slow start coming out but it was nice to be able to get the win. No matter what (Cody) has they're always competitive. (Dean) Olenik does a great job with those guys.

They all work hard and they want to win. It's always a fun game and you always get something from Cody, that's for sure."

The Warriors showed little signs of fatigue in the first quarter despite playing their third game in as many days. They were moving the ball well and defensively, applying pressure and forcing turnovers as they held a 16-11 lead after the first eight minutes.

But in the second quarter, the Warriors faltered as the mistakes started to pile up. Lazy passes led to steals and easy transition baskets on the other end for Cody as it outscored Worland 23-13 in the second frame to take a five-point lead at halftime.

Worland came out of the break and quickly closed the gap, scoring five straight points to tie the game before going on to outscore Cody 18-9 in the quarter – regaining the lead going into the fourth quarter, ahead 47-43. The Broncs kept it close through the first part of the fourth quarter, but as the game wore on the Warriors slowly started to pull away. A 3-pointer from Nicholas with 2 minutes and 59 seconds left in the game pushed Worland's lead into double digits as it led 57-46 before eventually winning 62-54.

Nicholas led all scorers with 23 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds in the win. Mauricio Caballero continued to play well, scoring 13 points in the win on 5 of 11 shooting.

Next, the Warriors have a pair of games in a home-and-away format as they travel to Douglas on Friday, Feb. 12 before hosting Newcastle on Saturday, Feb. 13 for the final home game of the season.

Nicholas reaches milestone

The senior standout needed only 14 points to reach 1,500 for his career ahead of Saturday's matchup with Cody. The basket came with 5:11 left in the third quarter as Nicholas received an outlet pass in transition and finished uncontested on the other end – putting him over the 1,500 mark for his career as a Worland Warrior.

"It's obviously a great feeling, but I definitely couldn't have gotten (to 1,500) without my teammates. I can't emphasize how important they were in helping me reach this milestone, so I've got to give credit to them," Nicholas said of his achievement. "Without the support and help from them I wouldn't be the player or man I am today – for that, I thank them."

Nicholas sits at 1,509 for his career – a total that will increase with five regular season games remaining followed by the 3A East regionals and possibly the state tournament after, if the Warriors qualify.