HEM looks to flatten Cokeville

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Anything can happen this weekend as the Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow Miners face off against the boys basketball teams at Farson-Eden on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Cokeville at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

While HEM coach Clif Jones believes his team is fully capable of winning both games, he worries about being on the road after the toughest two weekends of their season against Encampment, Guernsey-Sunrise, Saratoga and Little Snake River Valley. “How does it get easier?” asked Jones. “We load up and go on a big conference weekend.”

Jones also worries about his team playing only to the level of their competition and not beyond. He hopes it will not go to their heads that they are playing two teams the Miners can beat on paper, and have beaten before.

“Farson gets a great crowd. We beat them by 30 points on a neutral court and beat them by 30 at home, and they beat us at Farson,” Jones said.

The Miners plan to boost their defensive game and try to find other offensive options beyond Justin Palm and Matt Larson. “Baggs did a good job of packing it in and daring us to beat them from the outside (last weekend),” Jones said.

His team struggles with perimeter shooting, and will need to do a good job of finding the open man. In the game against Little Snake River Valley, HEM did manage to find another shooter in Charlie George. Raking in 15 points in that game, it was the first time anyone on the team had scored more than Palm and Larson, Jones said.

As for Cokeville, Jones hopes Encampment runs them to death before the Miners see them on Saturday. “Cokeville is one of the hardest places to play,” Jones said. “The kids there expect to win. It’s the most intimidating gym you’ll ever walk into, with over 50 state championships over the last 40 years. They have a whole wall. Even though you may on paper be a much stronger team, it’s still a difficult contest.”

HEM hopes to boost their transition game against Cokeville and locate the kids who want to score. This year has not provided them with the luxury of fast breaks and a high shooting percentage.

It is a make or break weekend for the Miners. Their goal at the beginning of the season was not to make the pigtail game at the end, forcing them to muscle their way into the regional tournament. If they come out of this weekend with two wins, they avoid the game. If they lose both, they are almost guaranteed to play the pigtail game. “If we split, it will come down to the last weekend. We would like to get it done this weekend,” Jones said.

Despite his worry, Jones is still hopeful about the weekend. “We’re a team of streaks. We lost three, we won seven. Now we’ve lost four and it’s time to turn it around again,” he said.