County foes clash heads Thursday

Times staff report

The Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow Miners clash with the Encampment Tigers Thursday in Hanna to determine seeding for the upcoming regional basketball tournaments.

The girls face off at 4:30 p.m., while the boys hit the court about an hour and a half after the girls finish.

“This game could determine who goes into regionals second or third,” said HEM coach Jackie Jones about the girls game. Encampment lost to Cokeville in Wednesday’s make-up game, putting them just behind the Lady Miners in the standings.

The two teams mirror each other in terms of how they use posts and guards, Jones said. She expects a “good game,” reminiscent of the last. The Miners won by six in the first game.

Clif Jones hopes his boys will shoot the ball as they continue to move beyond the Matt Larson-Justin Palm duo. “Sometimes a missed shot is as good as a pass,” Clif Jones said. Then Larson and Palm can get their share of offensive rebounds to go back up for points.

“They are one of the best teams in the state,” Clif Jones said of Encampment. “Last time we played, we were never even in the game with them. They’re going to be the No. 1 seed going in.”

The Miner boys need to win once more before the regular season ends to guarantee they are out of the pigtail game in the regional tournament. Clif Jones is looking toward the team’s final game against Little Snake River Valley for that win. “We won’t know the final order until the last game is played,” Clif Jones said. “We’ve still got a lot of basketball to play.”