Chiefs drop two conference games
Ronan High School boys basketball coach Mitchell Wassum knew the critical conference showdowns with Florence and Anaconda could send his team’s season in two different directions.
Back-to-back conference victories would put the Chiefs into the driver’s seat and back-to-back losses would put them log-jammed in the middle of a crowded conference race.
The Chiefs chose the latter and lost back-to-back games against Florence 71-30 and Anaconda 76-48.
“We just weren’t mentally prepared headed into the games and when things started going bad, it just snowballed for us,” Wassum said. “We didn’t do ourselves any favors missing free throws, turning the basketball over and taking ill-advised jump shots.”
Wassum said he felt in both games his Chiefs were unable to take advantage of the team’s opportunities.
“We had some really good looks at the basket and we just couldn’t’ get the baskets to fall,” Wassum said. “It was just poor timing and we had some ill-advised jump shots. We were 0-for-21 and just couldn’t continue to take those jump shots. We were able to move the ball inside but we just weren’t able to finish.”
Despite the setback, Wassum said he felt like his Chiefs can take this disappointment as a “learning experience.”
“We talk about peaks and valleys, and not getting too high and not getting too low,” Wassum said. “We were pretty high for a little while and that would be considered a peak. Our valley was the next week and we got our tails kicked the last two games. We just can’t get too high or too low because we are in a tough district with some good teams.”
Wassum said he is “optimistic” for the second half of the season.
“We will have a chance, and the nice and biggest thing is for us going is that we had four out of our first conference games on the road,” Wassum said. “It will be nice for us to play the second half of our conference schedule at home. To play on the road you have to be mentally tough and fight those things to be successful. We are making some changes and going back to some of the basics.”
The Chiefs will begin their second half of the conference schedule hosting their cross-county conference rival game against Mission Thursday night at the Ronan Event’s Center.
Wassum said both the Chiefs and the Bulldogs will be entering this conference contest from opposite ends of the spectrum.
“Mission has just won their first game and we are coming off two big losses,” Wassum said. “The nice thing is that we are at home and this is an opportunity for us to get back on track.”
Wassum is “mindful” of Mission’s ability despite the fact they’ve only won a game all season.
“They have some good talent, good athletes, and the first time we played them they played hard,” Wassum said. “All it takes is putting the ball in the basket. It’s funny how a complicated game and all of their schemes are as simple as putting the ball in the basket. They have some kids that can put the ball in the basket and they create some tough match ups. Defensively, we are just going to have to limit them.”
Wassum said he is proud of his Chief’s effort as they are 6-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
“Our kids just keep fighting and they are still fighting together,” Wassum said. “There is nothing more that we can do other than fix our mistakes, move on and continue to do it together because, after all, it is a long season.”
Anaconda 76, Ronan 48
At Anaconda
Ronan 8 14 19 7 – 48
Anaconda 22 17 17 20 – 76
RONAN – Zeke Misa 15, Kobe Morigeau 8, Aaron Misa 7, Anthony Camel 6, Josh Stewart 4, Kasey Mock 3, Dallas Durheim 3, Perry Panzetanga 2.
ANACONDA – Braxton Hill 27, Trent Mikalatos 15, Kaden Stetzner 13, Kayne Cobban 8, Bobby Swainston 7, Devon Kopp 2, Ryley Cobban 2, Josh Clark 2. (Th12Jan17)
Florence 70, Ronan 31
At Florence,
Ronan 7 10 9 5 – 31
Florence 28 20 13 9 – 70
RONAN – Randy Finley 3, Zeke Misa 4, Kasey Mock 3, Aaron Misa 5, Anthony Velasco 2, Dallas Durheim 2, Kobe Morigeau 6, Josh Stewart 2, Anthony Camel 4.
FLORENCE – Marcus Zeiler 26, Dillon Christopherson 12, Cody Liles 10, Brent Stroppel 9, Ethan Stensrud 5, Colby Kohlman 4, Brenden Bailey 2, Carson Katen 2. (Tu10Jan17)