Last weekend was a busy one for the Evanston High School boys’ basketball team, beginning with a tournament in Cheyenne and Laramie, and culminating with the first home game of the season Tuesday night, a 58-39 loss to Rock Springs.

“We had a very poor offensive night,” said EHS head coach Rob Watsabaugh about the loss to the Tigers. “We didn’t hit any threes – I thought we had some really good looks at the basket, and got to the free throw line a lot, we just couldn’t convert. That kind of hamstrung us a little bit.”

At the James Johnson Winter Classic in Cheyenne, the Red Devils (3-7) opened play last Thursday in fine fashion, beating Cheyenne South (3-7) 61-44. That was followed by a 66-56 loss to Sheridan (6-3) Friday; Evanston closed out the tournament Saturday with a 67-49 loss to Laramie (7-3).

“I think the tournament was a reflection of what we had done in the past 2.5 weeks over our break – we really got after it in practice,” Watsabaugh said. “I thought we raised our standards offensively, defensively, to where they need to be, and we showed that.”

The Red Devils are at home again Friday against Lyman (5-4), a team that poses a unique set of challenges, according to Watsabaugh.

“Lyman’s a tough team – they’re athletic, they have some length, they have some height, as well,” Watsabaugh said. “They’re very disciplined offensively in their sets, so we have to really lock in defensively, not let them have easy looks. Offensively, we have to run our offense – we can’t let pressure or length get to us. We have to get to our spots and move the basketball. We have to get the ball inside, then work it to the outside. That will be key for us. If we do those things, we should be OK.”

Another key for the Red Devils will be the rowdy and raucous student section, who have been chomping at the bit for their teams to play at home.

“Playing in front of the Evanston crowd – our crowd