No. 1 Bobcats gearing up for a week of big games

With two games against ranked teams and a 2A Northwest game sandwiched in between, the Hot Springs County Bobcats are ready for a big weekend.

Coming off two wins last week, the 'Cats (10-3) started 2A Northwest play 2-0 with a 56-41 win over Shoshoni on Jan. 24 in Shoshoni.

"Against Shoshoni we played fairly well," said HSCHS Shane Corpening. "We didn't have a great first quarter and didn't end the game well but quarters two and three we were pretty dominant. They zoned us and we weren't shooting well and they pretty much packed the paint."

Then, playing in their first home game of the season, the 'Cats beat Greybull 60-31 on Jan. 25 at HSCHS.

"Putting a whole game together, we were pretty solid. We played pretty dang good all-around on Saturday. The patience and ball movement got them settled pretty early into that game. It helped that they knocked down some shots and shot well. Anytime you shoot well against a zone it stretches it and opens things up inside. Hitting those 3s early helped us and the ball movement was forcing them to shift and we were catching them mid-shift and getting it inside," said Corpening.

Between the two games, the 'Cats did a lot of things well. They attacked the zones that Shoshoni and Greybull threw at them. Their half-court defense brought pressure and forced turnovers.

However, the 'Cats rebounding will need to improve, especially in this week's games.

"The big thing we want to talk about is our energy on defense was pretty solid. We were pressuring the ball, getting into passing lanes and forcing turnovers in the half-court. That's where we want to brand ourselves this year. There were times when we were too aggressive, but we'll talk about that in film sessions. It's those little things we have to take care of.

"We've been good at rebounding the ball all year but I felt we took a small step back there last weekend. There were times we sacrificed rebounds to get out in transition. It might not hurt us against Greybull or Shoshoni, but you cannot do that against Wyoming Indian, Rocky or Lovell," said Corpening.

With a trio of challenging games this weekend, first up is tonight's 7 p.m. home game against No. 3 Wyoming Indian. The Chiefs are 12-4 this season and are the defending 2A State champions.

"Wyoming Indian does what they do and do it incredibly well. It bodes well for us to get into a half-court game and make them work on both ends of the court. We have to do a good job taking care of the ball and boxing out. They try to score off of turnovers and they crash the offensive glass really hard. They'll give up some shots early, I'm not sure we want to take those. We have to emphasize getting the ball into the paint. Defensively, they'll take the first open look they get but they'll crash hard off a miss. They get about 60, 70 shots every game," said Corpening.

After Wyoming Indian, the 'Cats go on the road to battle 2A Northwest rival Rocky Mountain in Cowley at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies are 7-8 this season but are a defensive-minded team and traditionally play well at home.

"They're super competitive, play good defense and collectively shoot the ball pretty well from 3. They hustle and get offensive rebounds. We've struggled with letting teams hang around with us and not putting teams away that we're better than. Rocky's a tough team and we have to go to their house, and they play well on their homecourt. We've to be at our best on Friday night," said Corpening.

Closing out the weekend, the 'Cats host 3A No. 1 Lovell (13-0) in a battle of No.1s at 2:30 p.m.

"I have on my board 'State/Regionals' because that's how I want to approach this weekend. You get the toughest team at the end. From what I've seen so far, Lovell is probably the best team in the state, regardless of classification. They do a lot of things well. They defend well, have a ton of offensive weapons and transition well," said Corpening.

Team rankings are from the WyoPreps coaches and media basketball polls.