By Josh Hall

Herald Sports Editor

EVANSTON — Lex Cornia knows there is no such thing as an easy conference game — especially this season.

The Evanston High School boys’ basketball coach made that clear on Friday night after the No. 3 Red Devils claimed a 55-36 win against Jackson in their final home game on senior night.

“Jackson is a dangerous team,” Cornia said. “Hey, in conference play, everybody plays hard, everybody scouts each other, they take you out of what you want to do, they knock you off line and you really have to dig deep to win against anybody.”

Evanston improved to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the 4A West.

Jackson fell to 4-10 overall and 0-5 in conference play.

“I was very proud of our guys tonight,” Cornia said. “There’s a lot of pressure being in this gym and the expectations that this community has for this group of basketball players. Mistakes get made, but I was proud of our guys. They go on to the next play and just work hard. If they work hard, good things will happen.

“I thought that’s what this game was about. As ugly as it was at times, we said, ‘Nope. We’ll just keep working hard, we’ll have some faith, and in the end, things will take care of themselves.’ And they did.”

The Red Devils led by as many as 18 points on multiple possessions in the third quarter, but Jackson didn’t go down without a fight. The Broncs pulled within 10 with 5:06 to play in the fourth quarter, but that’s as close as they would get.

Evanston closed the contest out on a 9-0 run to win its seventh-straight game.

“I think it’s an eye-opener for our guys,” Evanston senior Chase Critchfield said. “Class 4A is open. Everybody wants it in 4A. There’s not that one team like Kelly Walsh last year who is just dominating. It’s open. I think tonight was good for us — especially on senior night to come in and get this win.”

After Friday, Evanston still leads the 4A West, while Kelly Walsh (6-9, 3-1), Green River (12-3, 2-2) and Rock Springs (9-6, 2-2) are all in the mix. The Red Devils are the only undefeated team in conference play in the West or East Conference in Class 4A.

Evanston travels to Green River on Feb. 9, Rock Springs on Feb. 10, Kelly Walsh on Feb. 16, Natrona on Feb. 17 and closes out the regular season at Jackson Feb. 24. Regional play begins March 1 in Jackson, while the state tournament will kick off March 8 in Casper.

“I think we’re definitely going to take it one game at a time,” Critchfield said. “Green River and Rock Springs are both going to be out to get us — well, everybody is — but especially those two teams. It will be fun. We just have to be able to have that grit and that excitement to go and play in other team’s gyms now. Be able to compete and see what happens.”

The top-two teams in each conference at the end of the regular season get an automatic bid to play at state, although both teams will still play at regionals for seeding purposes.

Evanston believes they are still a way from reaching its peak. And that’s not a bad thing in the Red Devils’ minds. They still have a month to perfect some fundamentals before postseason play begins. 

“I definitely say there is room for improvement,” Evanston senior Braxton Hiatt said. “But our team — we push each other in practice and are continuing to get better. I think we’re a team that will keep improving, especially come state time.”

Critchfield finished with a game-high 24 points, Hiatt added 14 and fellow senior Chandler Anderson added eight to lead the offensive attack for the Red Devils.

Prior to the game, Evanston honored seniors, Seth Macdonald, Brendon Mathson, Hunter Groll, Ethan Johnson, Colter Thomas, Critchfield, Hiatt and Anderson.

The group of eight hope there is more basketball to be played after the first week of March.

“You’ve just got to enjoy the moment, because it’s flying by,” Hiatt said. “You’ve just got to enjoy everything as it comes. It’s a blessing.”

Evanston jumped out to a 13-3 lead after the first quarter, but were outscored 12-11 in the second and took a 24-12 advantage into the break.

The Red Devils used and 18-point third quarter — 11 of those points coming from Critchfield — and went into the final period with a 42-13 lead.

“We know we’re going to see (Jackson) again, and we know we’re going to have to come out and play very, very hard,” Cornia said. “There’s no sleeper night’s in our conference. The East side of the state is the same way. Nobody’s getting blowouts, nobody’s walking through. Everybody’s going to be playing very sharp. I think this is going to be the most entertaining state tournament Wyoming has seen in a lot of years.”