Laramie Plainsmen Season Ends at Regionals

The season came to a close for the Laramie Plainsmen basketball team with an overtime loss to the Cheyenne Central Indians, 26-25, at the 4A East Regional Tournament in Cheyenne on Thursday night.

Both teams decided to take the must-win game possession by possession by slowing down the pace. After the first quarter Laramie led Central 3-2. Tate Hilgenkamp hit his second trey of the night just before halftime to send both teams into the locker room tied at 11.

The Plainsmen outscored the Indians 4-1 in the third quarter to take a 15-12 lead into the fourth. Two free throws from Central tied the game at 18 with 4:45 to play.  A couple of minutes later a Central bucket in the paint gave the Indians a 20-18 lead. Sam Feldman and Hilgenkamp each hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game back up. Laramie held the ball for the final minute then missed a shot as the clock ran down to send the game into overtime tied at 20.

Two big Laramie turnovers helped Central build up a 26-22 lead, but the Indians missed free throws that could have sealed the win. With 22 seconds on the clock, Tyler Loose hit a three to bring Laramie back within one. Central missed two more free throws and Laramie had the ball with 15 seconds, but a desperation three by Loose was off the mark and the Indians grabbed the win, 26-25.

LHS senior point guard Hilgenkamp gave credit to Central for pulling out the overtime win, "We knew it was going to be a tough game, they always fight and they play an interesting game. They executed more than we did and hit a couple of more shots. They played a good game."

Hilgenkamp led Laramie with a game-high 11 points. The Plainsmen hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor, including 3-0f-7 from beyond the arc. They made 10-of-14 free throw attempts and grabbed 18 rebounds, but committed 17 costly turnovers in the loss. Laramie finishes the season with a 9-14 record.

"We needed key shots, we needed key stops and we didn't get that," remarked Head Coach Jason Mountain after the loss. "Sometimes you just don't know why things happen the way they do and unfortunately we'll have to sit state out this year. But I will cherish the memories and relationships I've built with these guys and that will continue on."

Central was led by Mason Munford with 8 points and 8 boards, 5 of which were on the offensive glass. The Indians hit just 8-of-24 shots from the floor, went 0-for-7 from three, and made just 10-of-22 shots at the charity stripe. They had 16 rebounds and only 10 turnovers in the win that punched their ticket to the state tournament.