Laramie High School basketball debuted last weekend at the East-West Challenge in Riverton and came away with only one win in six games.

The Laramie Plainsmen finished 1-2, while the Lady Plainsmen went 0-3 to start the 2014-15 season.

Laramie’s boy’s opened with a 49-30 loss to #5 Evanston last Thursday. The Plainsmen went on a 12-2 run and pulled within 34-30 in the fourth quarter. The Red Devils responded with a 15-0 to end the game. Jake Aadland led LHS with 14 points.

Last Friday, Laramie picked up a 60-54 win at the tournament host, Riverton. LHS was in front 37-26 in the third quarter. Then Riverton used a 19-4 run and took a 45-41 lead early in the fourth. The Plainsmen answered right back with a 13-0 run for a 54-45 lead and held on for the victory. Aadland was the top scorer again with 18 points, while Tristan Eickbush added 17 points.

In the tournament finale on Saturday, Laramie faced #1 Kelly Walsh and fell 57-29. The Plainsmen held an early 9-3 lead. The Trojans used a 10-0 spurt at the end of the first to take the lead for good.  Kelly Walsh dominated the second half, as they out-scored LHS 35-14. Aadland finished with nine points to top Laramie.

Plainsmen head coach Chuck Kern said,

“I take away that we can play with high energy and high intensity. We’re not where we need to be yet. We’ve got to eliminate our valleys.”

The Laramie girls started out okay, then struggled for five quarters, before picking it up again, but still left Riverton winless.

The Lady Plainsmen lost 44-34 to Evanston last Thursday. The game was tied at 33 after three quarters of play. Then, Laramie was held to one point in the final period. Eliza Dickinson led the way with ten points.

Last Friday at Riverton was tough from start to finish. LHS never scored in double figures in a quarter and lost to the Wolverines, 41-16. The Laramie girls scored only two points in both the second and fourth quarters. Alexis Pickerd led the way with six points.

Saturday was a battle with Kelly Walsh until the middle of the fourth quarter. Laramie lost 57-45. The Trojans finished the game on a 14-0 run, as the Lady Plainsmen hurt themselves with eight turnovers in the final period. Both Savannah Cox and Kade Setright had career-highs of 17 and 13 points, respectively.

Lady Plainsmen head coach Kyle Stucky said, “Obviously we know what we need to work on. We’ve got to stop fouling people, and we’ve got to find to secure defensive rebounds… We’re going to work hard on it. We’re going to address it as a team and rally around it and get better.”

Neither team returns to action until 2015. Both Laramie squads will take part in the Cabela’s Holiday Shootout in Sidney, Nebraska, January 2 and 3, 2015.

More From KOWB 1290