Royals go 1-2 in Wyoming

The Lake Region State College Royals basketball team traveled to Wyoming this past week to play 3 games in 4 days.

First stop for the Royals was in Sheridan, WY where they would take on the Sheridan Community College Generals. Midway through the first half the Royals were hanging tough with the Generals with the score 22-16. LRSC would go cold allowing Sheridan to make a run to extend their lead 47-25 at the half. A quick start in the second half from the Royals cut the lead to 15 forcing a Generals timeout. Two quick turnovers from LRSC and two offensive boards on the other end that led to buckets would put the Sheridan lead back to 20. The Royals would never get it closer after that. The final Sheridan 90 Lake Region 62. Cedric Boone and Nik Fassos led the Royals with 11 points each. Lamarr Wood would provide a spark off the bench for the Royals giving them 9 points and 3 rebounds.

Next up for the Royals was NJCAA Division 1 #19 ranked Gillette Community College Pronghorns. Lake Region came out swinging and jumped to an early lead. An onslaught of three's from Cedric Boone and Alex Weston kept the Royals on top for most of the first. A late run by Gillette in the first half would see them take the lead back from LRSC 50-42 heading into the break. The Pronghorns size and athleticism proved to be too much for the Royals in the second. They would turn the Royals over 12 times in the second half and limit them to 39% shooting from the field to put the game away. The final score Lake Region State 75 Gillette 99. Cedric Boone led the Royals with 26 points, Alex Weston and Nik Fassos would contribute 9 points each, James Streeter would have a big night off the bench going a perfect 7-7 from the field for 15 points.

The third and final game of the road trip matched up Lake Region against Miles City Community College Pioneers. In the previous matchup between the two teams, the Royals had to overcome a 16-point deficit to make the come from behind victory. That was not the case today, as LRSC would lead wire to wire. The Royals would explode for 63 points in the first half behind thirteen three pointers, eight of which belonged to Drew Thielges. The Pioneers would try to make a run in the second and cut the lead to 8 but the Royals would buckle down and finish the game winning 114 to 105. Drew Thielges would lead the Royals with 27 points, Alex Weston had 21 points and 6 rebounds, Nik Fassos had 16 points. Off the bench for the Royals Kyle Henningsgard had 10 assists and Harvey Barr had 10 points and 7 rebounds.  

Head Coach Jared Marshall had this to say about the games, "This was our toughness week. We played three quality opponents in four days in our first true road test. We got a lot better this past week. I liked how we had different guys step up every day to help lead us. It shows what a versatile team we can be. I thought we shot the ball well from behind the arc all weekend. We still need to clean up a few areas like our turnovers and free throws. However, overall I was happy with our performance and proud of the way we played."

The Royals are now 8-3 on the season. They will travel to Belcourt, ND to take on Turtle Mountain. The Royals won the previous matchup with TMCC 117-65.

Go Royals!