Warriors claim 3A West championship

WORLAND - After several hard-fought battles, one of which was a double-overtime game, the Worland Warriors were crowned the 2023 3A West boys basketball regionals championship in Mountain View last weekend.

Playing at the 3A West tournament in Mountain View on March 2-4, the Warriors put together three wins to bring home the 3A West regional title.

The Warriors wins did not come easy, though. In the quarterfinals, they got off to a slow start against Mountain View before winning 64-62.

In the semifinals, Worland faced their toughest game going against Lovell, which brought up painful memories from last season when they were upset in the regional semifinals by Powell. But unlike last season, the Warriors willed their way to a 64-62 double-overtime win.

In the championship, the Warriors outlasted Lyman in a low-scoring, defensive game, winning 52-42 to take the 3A West.

"The whole weekend, we had to claw and fight, and the 3A West was kind of that way," said WHS boys basketball coach Aaron Abel. "Friday's game gave you déjà vu. Last year we were the No. 1 seed, and Powell was a good plucky 3-seed with great senior leadership and sophomores. That's what Lovell had too. We had played Lovell three times, and each game got progressively closer. Even before the game, you were very nervous going up against Lovell for the fourth time.

"We got out to another slow start as we did against Mountain View. We shot the ball horribly, and those are the games that are the most fun to win, when you can find ways to win postseason games like that. We got our first lead with about 1:52 to go but gave it back because we wouldn't stop fouling, and it didn't look like we were going to get it."

The Warriors game against Lovell was one of the toughest games the Warriors have played all season. Lovell controlled most of the game, and it wasn't until 1:52 left in the fourth quarter that Worland had their first lead.

But after a made free throw by Lovell put them up 51-49 with 4.5 seconds left in regulation, the Warriors had to use a play they had worked on but never really perfected.

Warrior Kade Weber was the inbounder on the play, and the senior fired the ball to Landen Gilmore just beyond half court, who flipped the ball to Brock Douzenis, who was sprinting down the left side of the court. Douzenis caught the ball near the 3-point line, took two dribbles, got to the rim, put up a left-hand layup and the ball gently swirled in the basket as the buzzer sounded to tie the game and force the first OT.

"After that Powell-Lovell weekend three weeks ago, we talked about how we haven't been in any real close games yet. We've been in kind of close games but not down-to-the-wire type games. We started practicing different situations, and one of them was, we're down by one with six seconds on the clock, and we have the length of the floor to go.

"We put in that hook-and-ladder play, and all four times we ran it in practice, it didn't quite work. It took a lot of moving parts to make that one work. All those things came together perfectly that night, and it was cool that we had prepared for that moment almost to the letter. We were given that moment in as pressured-filled position as possible, and our boys pulled it out," said Abel. "I was proud to be a part of that game, and it's one of the top three or four games I've coached or been a part of."

With the foul trouble to Gilmore and Owen Page, the Warriors turned to reserve players Chase Harris and Brody Thiel, both of whom gave Worland big, much-needed minutes.

Senior guard Court Gonsalez also came up with some big plays on offense and clutch free throws.

"Chase Harris at the end of the second overtime making the last free throw to clinch the win. Brody Thiel played some big minutes because we weren't used to both Landen and Owen getting into foul trouble. Our kids were adaptable, and Brody and Chase were two of the kids who stepped up big for us defensively and on the boards.

"Court hadn't had a great offensive game in quite a few weeks. He had been limited, but he was OK with that and did a great job distributing it to teammates. Then against Lovell when it counted most, he came up big for us," said Abel.

Going into the 3A State tournament, the Warriors are the No. 1-seed coming out of the West and face the Torrington Trailblazers, the No. 4-seed out of the East.

Tonight's game against Torrington at 9 p.m. is a 1 vs. 4 matchup but will be a tough test right out of the gates for Worland.

"Torrington is 10-14, and you'd think it should be an easy game. But if you look at those 14 losses, six have come against good Nebraska teams, two against Douglas, the best team in the state, two more against Buffalo, one to Pine Bluffs, the 2A State champs and two more to Wheatland, who are in the state tournament. They've got some losses, but they haven't lost to many bad teams, and they play good teams tough.

"It's going to be a battle, and they've got some length inside. They really like to shoot the 3 and shoot about 18 a game. They made 13 3s in one game against Newcastle earlier this season, and when they're playing well, they're hitting from the perimeter.

These Warriors are battle-tested, especially the senior class. After losing to Douglas in the quarterfinals last season, the Warriors are eager to right that loss.

"The battle scars have taught us things like they do every year. Last year's scars are still felt by the seniors, especially. They know what that feels like, and that's motivating to them too. Our motto has been 'unfinished business' and I really think however this weekend goes, our boys are determined to finish the job," said Abel.