JACKSON – Saturday’s 49-42 win over Jackson changed nothing for either team in the standings. Evanston came into the week already secure in its No. 1 bid in this week’s regional tournament. After Natrona upset Green River on Friday, Jackson was locked into the sixth seed.

It might make sense then, that in a game where neither team had anything tangible to gain or lose, both coaches came away with positive thoughts on the matchup.

For Jackson’s head coach Sam Lunz, he said prior to Saturday’s game he was grateful to be able to finish the season against the top team in the region.

“It’s always nice to play one of the teams that’s the best in the state,” coach Lunz said prior to tip-off. “We want to go out and see how we match up.”

Jackson took control of Saturday’s games at times, particularly in the beginning of the second and third quarters. The open shots from 3 were there for Jackson, but not enough went in for it to matter in the end.

Nevertheless, coach Lunz was upbeat after the game, having taken on the best and having hung with them.

For Evanston’s head coach Lex Cornia, he said after the game that he felt better about his team heading into regionals than he did the week before after a win.

“I’m more happy with them after this game than I was after (last week’s win over) Natrona,” coach Cornia said. “We tried to have some different looks in practice this week and tried to get our big guys involved a little more ... (Jackson) didn’t have to just look at two guys. They had to look at four or five.”

Senior guard Chase Critchfield led the way for Evanston with 17 points against Jackson, followed by Braxton Hiatt with 11. Post players Lance Evans and Chandler Anderson combined to add 18 more points in the win. Seth Macdonald finished without any points but had multiple open looks that didn’t fall.

As Evanston heads into the playoff season, coach Cornia knows that teams will focus in on the scoring duo of Hiatt and Critchfield and try to defeat the Devils by negating their impact. He used this game as a case study of how this team could play with a more balanced attack.

Rock Springs freshman guard Graedyn Buell has become known across the state for his shot-happy ways. 

But the fact is, Buell only ranks third (27.8 percent) in the 4A West in taking the highest percentage of his team’s total shots. Critchfield (28.4 percent) and Hiatt (28.1 percent) lead the conference in that category.

It should be mentioned that Hiatt and Critchfield have combined for a significantly higher conversion average than Buell. Buell’s field goal percentage is .444 with a true-shooting percentage of .587. Hiatt and Critchfield have a combined .544 shooting percentage with a true-shooting percentage of .673.

Nevertheless, coach Cornia thinks the diversified attack is the best way to keep some of the best in the state from shutting down his team.

Despite meaning nothing in the standings, Saturday’s game was not without its thrills.

Evanston led by eight points after the first quarter before Jackson jumped out of the gates in the second.  Cooper McMullen hit a 3 with 5:30 left in the second quarter to cap off an 8-3 Jackson run to make the score 17-14. Evanston’s defense clamped down after the McMullen 3 and led 26-14 at halftime.

Jackson again came out hot in the third quarter. The Broncs went on a 9-2 run in the first 3 minutes and 18 seconds of the quarter to climb back to within five points. But once again, Evanston locked down defensively and allowed just three points the rest of the quarter.

Evanston led by 12 points with about a minute left in the game when it pulled its starters and allowed Jackson to pull the final gap down to seven points.

Evanston will play again on Friday in the 4A West regional semifinals in Jackson at 8:30 p.m. The Red Devils will play the winner of No. 4 Green River vs. No. 5 Natrona. The game can be listened to online at mylocalradio.com or on the radio at KNYN 99.1 FM.

(Photo courtesy Amber Baesler/Jackson Hole News&Guide)