Jones, Schowengerdt, lead Herders despite weekend losses against Doggers, Cyclones

Senior Aiden Orozco and a Lingle/Ft. Laramie Dogger sail high above the rest of the pack at the Glenrock goal. The blocked shot was rebounded by the Herders and put in for two Friday night before a home crowd. (Matt Adelman / The Glenrock Independent photos)

Sophomore Herder Charlie Schowengerdt and Dogger Aidan Mattheus nearly top the bucket in their quest for the rebound beneath the Herder goal. The pair grappled with the ball for a few seconds in the air and on the ground before Schowengerdt came away with it. (Matt Adelman / The Glenrock Independent photos)

By: 
Joshua Leach, Independent Staff

A pair of tough 1A opponents gave the Herders all they could handle as Glenrock dropped its final regular season match-ups against Lingle and Southeast. 

 

1A Lingle-Ft. Laramie 53,

Glenrock 45

Hot shooting put the 1A Doggers up quickly and the Herders short-lived fireworks weren’t quite enough to put another tick in the win column on Senior Night – and Glenrock fell, 45-53. 

The Senior Night scrum started on skates with neither team able to maintain possession of the basketball. Senior Bryce Schumacher opened scoring on a nice pass from junior Logan Jones to give Glenrock (3-16, 1-3 2A Southeast) a short-lived lead, but Lingle-Ft. Laramie (9-12) answered with a 3-pointer on their next possession. The Doggers quickly figured out the Herder press and ran through the full-court defense for a string of easy buckets that put them up 15-9 at the quarter break. 

Back-to-back triples by Lingle to open the second quarter prompted a quick timeout by coach Shawn Huxtable and the hot shooting cooled slightly for the Doggers, who went several minutes without posting a bucket. Charges taken deep in the backcourt by Lingle killed off any Herder momentum until Jones and sophomore Gavin Zeiger hit a pair of triples of their own in the final minute to give the Herd a boost going into halftime. 

“We just had too many turnovers in the second quarter,” Huxtable said. “That was our only quarter with double-digit turnovers. We had 13, that helped them get out to a little bit of a lead.”

Though it may have been Senior Night, freshman Ayden Moulton brought some energy in the second half, stealing passes, collecting offensive rebounds, and sparking a stagnant Herd offense. Moulton collected 4 points and 4 steals in the quarter as the Herd tried to claw their way back into the game.

“He’s been a bit of a spark plug for us all year,” the coach said. “The up-tempo game plays more into his hands. He played a great game.”

The fourth started with bang as Moulton hit the deck on a big charge call and Jones found senior Terrin Fauber, somehow, after collecting an offensive rebound on his knees. The Herd kept chipping away as the young guns brought some energy in a game honoring their elders, getting within 7 at one point after a steal and score by sophomore Mason O’Brien, but the lead the Doggers had built in the second proved too much to overcome.

Jones led the way for Glenrock, recording 15 points, 5 assists and 3 steals in the loss. Moulton had 6 points and 5 steals.

 

1A Southeast 60, Glenrock 58

The shorthanded Herders couldn’t quite close the deal in Yoder, ending the season with the slimmest of losses, falling to the 1A Cyclones, 58-60.

Glenrock had to improvise without senior linchpin Terrin Fauber, who came down awkwardly the night before and did not play in Saturday’s matchup with Southeast. Glenrock turned to sophomore forward Charlie Schowengerdt to fill the gap and he did so admirably, finding holes in the defense and gobbling up rebounds. 

“Charlie’s played really well for us the last three weeks, at least,” Huxtable said. “He’s found out how aggressive you have to be to be successful at this level. He’s had a great year, really matured well.”

Jones leaned this way and that for buckets, somehow converting more shots off-balance than on. The Herders had one of their most consistent scoring quarters of the season, converting 6 of their 12 shots from the field and ending the period down by just two points. 

Foul trouble in the second started to hurt the Herd as Southeast went to work at the free throw line, converting bonus free throws at a high clip. Jones and senior Aidan Orozco put in the work to keep it close and Glenrock went into the locker room down five points.

Schowengerdt and Orozco continued to work in the second half, collecting offensive rebounds down low and working the post for easy buckets. Jones’s heroics continued throughout the second half as he sliced and diced his way through the Cyclone defense. 

The crucial moment came late in the fourth, with the Herd down 55-59. O’Brien drove up the court with speed and a Southeast defender followed him with reckless abandon. Jones squared up to set a hard screen and was lifted clean off his feet by the impact. That sent him to the free throw line where he converted one of his two shots. He knifed through the defense on the next possession and chucked up an off-balance free-throw-line leaner to draw Glenrock within one. Southeast hit one free throw on the following trip down the court, and a last-second heave from senior Bryce Schumacher failed to hit the mark as the Herd lost a heartbreaker.

“Obviously, I’m really disappointed in the loss,” Huxtable said. “I thought they did an excellent job of playing for each other, playing good defensively and helping each other out. I sent a message out to them (Sunday) reiterating how proud I was of how well they played and how they stuck together and played for each other and cheered for each other.”

Jones led the way for Glenrock with a season-best 31 points and five steals, while Schowengerdt had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in his first career start.

Glenrock heads to Burns on Thursday for the start of the 2A East Regional Tournament. They’ll open with a matchup against Big Horn (12-9, 6-2 2A Northeast). Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

 

Stat of the Week: 1

It was an auspicious beginning for what looks like a promising career for Charlie Schowengerdt, who notched his first career double-double in his first career start. 

 

Top performers

Logan Jones: 24 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

Charlie Schowengerdt: 8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1 double-double

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