By Sisco Molina
Sports Editor 

FINISHING STRONG

Warriors come alive in second half to survive scare from Cody

 

March 11, 2016

Sisco Molina

Worland senior Hoyt Nicholas absorbs contact from a Cody defender and draws a foul during the first quarter of Worland's 64-50 win over Cody in the first round of the Class 3A Wyoming High School State Basketball Championships at the Casper Events Center on Thursday.

CASPER – For the second straight year, Worland and Cody met in the first round of the Class 3A Wyoming High School State Basketball Championships at the Casper Events Center on Thursday.

And just like last year, Worland left with a win.

The Warriors had a much slower start than they're accustomed to, but came alive in the second half as they defeated the Broncs 64-50 to secure themselves a spot in the semifinals today.

"That first half was tough with us starting slow," Senior Hoyt Nicholas said after the win. "They came out shooting, they came out on fire and they're coached really well.

"It's huge for us to get this win against Cody."

The Broncs executed almost flawlessly in the first quarter, shooting well from the field and controlling the glass as it led Worland 17-10 after the first eight minutes.

The Warriors stormed back to take the lead at the 2 minute and 40 second mark of the second quarter as Hoyt Nicholas buried a 3 from the corner to put his team ahead 22-21.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth in the closing minutes of the quarter and it looked like Worland would take a 27-25 lead into the locker room after Mauricio Caballero buried a 3-pointer, but Cody's Blake Hinze answered with one of his own with time running out to give Cody a 28-27 lead at the break.

Thanks to a good quarter both offensively and defensively, the Warriors outscored the Broncs 14-9 in the third frame to take a 41-37 lead into the final eight minutes.

It was there the Warriors finally came alive.

Caballero connected back-to-back 3s to give Worland a 49-39 lead over Cody with 6:13 remaining in the final stanza.

"In the first half they denied me, which was weird," Caballero said. "But I got a little bit of room and hit the first one and then the second one too. I just shot with confidence and they went in."

Added Worland boys basketball coach Aaron Abel: "Those really distanced us from Cody. Without those shots, we would have been in for a fight to the finish. But Mauricio came up huge for us."

Worland's lead grew to as many as 12 in the final quarter, but Cody was able to cut the deficit to as little as five points. The Warriors ended up outscoring the Broncs 23-13 in the quarter, though, to make the final 14-point deficit.

Nicholas had 19 points in the first half alone on 8 of 13 shooting and finished the game with 34 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Caballero also finished in double digits with 13 points while Chandler Ramos also had nine.

"I knew we needed points and that's kind of what I do," Nicholas said. "I was open and I just let it fly."

Cody was led in scoring by Blake Hinze with 23 points, but on 10 of 27 shooting. No other Cody player finished in double digits.

The Warriors will provide the night cap in the semifinal round at Casper College with tip-off slated for 9 p.m. They'll face the winner of Wheatland and Jackson who played in the late game at the Casper Events Center on Thursday night.

At press time, Wheatland led Jackson 31-19 at halftime.

 
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