By Josh Hall

Herald Sports Editor

The Evanston High School basketball team secured its ticket to the Class 4A state championship after collecting a win in overtime against Green River on Friday and overcoming a second-half deficit to beat Rock Springs on Saturday. 

The celebration, however, will be very short-lived. The Red Devils’ goal all season hasn’t been to make it to the state tournament. The goal has always been to win it. 

“The level of basketball we played (over the weekend) will not win us a state championship,” Evanston coach Lex Cornia said on Sunday. “There’s work to be done. Our guys buy into that whole-heartedly and they’re ready to go to work.”

The Red Devils claimed a 77-72 overtime win against Green River before punching their ticket to state on Saturday with a 70-65 win against Rock Springs.

Evanston is now 15-3 on the season, 7-0 in the 4A West Conference. The top-two teams in each conference in Class 4A get automatic bids to the state tournament March 8-10 in Casper. 

That’s a feat the Red Devils accomplished with three regular-season games remaining, all on the road.

“It lets us catch a breath,” Cornia said. “It does make a difference. That’s why teams fight for this spot. 

I think it’s definitely an advantage and “that’s why we set it as a goal.”

While Evanston will be able to catch its breath in a sense, Cornia and his coaching staff made it clear to the team after Saturday’s win that practice this week will be no cakewalk. 

“We told the team after the Rock Springs game, ‘This is not going to be a relaxed week of practices. These practices are going to be intense, they’re going to be noisy, (the coaching staff) is going to challenge you and we’re going to push you to address these things,” Cornia said. “I think we all realize the holes are there. The guys are very receptive of that. They looked me in the eye and they nodded their heads.”

Cornia said the team will address its defensive rotations, along with communication, execution on the offensive end, and speed and pressure at different times in the game.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Cornia said. “If you ask the rest of my staff, they’ve got a lot more than that. We have more than enough work to do in these two weeks before regionals. I’m glad we have the luxury of not having to stress about seeding or play-in games as we go through it.”

Evanston will finish out the regular season with games at Kelly Walsh (Feb. 16), Natrona (Feb. 17) and Jackson (Feb. 24). The Red Devils could lose all three games and would still be a shoo-in for the state tournament. 

That’s not how Evanston is approaching its final two weeks before regional play kicks off March 1-3 in Jackson. 

“We’re going to come out and play our best,” Evanston senior Brendan Mathson said. 

But in the end, winning a regional title would just be icing on the cake for the Red Devils. 

“Winning a regional championship would be great, but the focus is always state championships,” Cornia said. “We’re proud of regional titles. Guys have to work really hard for them. But it’s a step in the process. It’s not the culmination of the process.”

FROM FRIDAY

Evanston 77, Green River 72

GREEN RIVER – After holding a five-point lead with 33 seconds to play in regulation, Evanston had to fight its way to a 77-72 overtime win against the Wolves on Friday night. 

Red Devils’ senior Braxton Hiatt finished with a team-high 25 points, while fellow seniors Chase Critchfield and Seth Mcdonald with 24 and nine, respectively, to lead the way for Evanston in scoring. 

“That win said a lot about our character,” Cornia. “The way we played in the last minute (of regulation) and letting them come back, we deserved to be in the position we were playing in. But the way we responded, I was just very proud of that.”

Evanston had a 60-52 lead with 1:35, but Green River closed out regulation on a 12-4 run to force overtime. 

The Wolves scored the first points in overtime, but Braxton Hiatt made four free throws while Lance Evans added a basket and two free throws as the Red Devils took a 72-66 lead with 1:39 left and never looked back. 

FROM SATURDAY

Evanston 70, Rock Springs 65

ROCK SPRINGS – The Red Devils overcame a six-point halftime deficit to claim a 70-65 win against Rock Springs on Saturday night. The win secured Evanston’s position in the Class 4A state tournament in March. 

Hiatt finished with 20 points, Critchfield scored 20 and Chandler Anderson added 11 to lead the Red Devils in scoring. 

Evanston jumped out to a 17-6 lead with 2:50 to play in the first quarter, but Rock Springs ended the second quarter with a 31-25 advantage. 

The Red Devils continued to trail by as many as six points throughout the third quarter, but Evanson tied the game at 44 with 27.4 seconds remaining in the period. Seth Lloyd made a fast-break layup, and Hiatt finished on the back side with two free throws after Rock Springs was called for a technical foul on the play. 

Evanston took a 45-44 lead with 3.8 seconds on a Lloyd free throw, and the Red Devils didn’t look back the rest of the way. 

“We have multiple leaders on the team that come out and settle the team down,” Mathson said. “I think that’s what helps us come together at the end of games that are really tight and close and allows us to get a victory.

“We’ve had some really good games, but I still believe we haven’t played out best basketball yet.”