Central boys fight off Laramie to claim 4A state title

Mar. 10—CASPER — Cheyenne Central seniors Joe Sawyer and Chase Talich combined for 37 points to take down Laramie 62-59 and claim the Indians' third Class 4A state championship since 2016.

"They've been together forever," Central coach Jim Shaffer said. "It's really unusual that you get to this point and you have nine of them left. We had nine guys make a commitment at the beginning of the year that it was going to be 'Always Us.'

"They stayed true to that and all year long, they stayed together and played as a team. We always had someone step up and make plays, whether they played 25 minutes or played two. They supported each other and fought for each other. You can't say enough about those nine guys."

There were eight fouls called in the first four minutes of play, resulting in Central seniors Sam Shumway and Ryan Bradley — along with LHS junior Jaden Smith — to pick up two fouls each.

"The fouls played a big effect," Laramie coach Drew Evans said. "We were very timid at what we wanted to do offensively. We were timid around the rim both offensively and defensively.

"At the end of the day, we needed to make more plays."

Plainsmen junior Neil Summers drew first blood with a layup on the opening possession, but the score was immediately answered by Talich, who made his first 3-pointer of the night.

The plan for Laramie was to feed Summers in the post, as the 6-foot-8 forward was 3-of-7 (42.8%) from the field and nabbed four rebounds in the process. With a minute and a half to play in the opening frame, Talich converted a layup when fouled but missed the and-1 opportunity on the free throw.

Trailing 12-8, Summers and junior Max Alexander got back-to-back layups to fall, tying the game after eight minutes. Talich wasted no time getting the Indians going in the second quarter, as he once again converted a layup while fouled — this time making the free throw.

Later in the period, Shumway cashed in Central's second 3-pointer of the night to give the Indians a 22-16 lead. LHS struggled from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half by shooting 0-of-5 (0%), and couldn't take advantage of free-throw opportunities at 0-of-4 (0%).

"It's crazy, and when you have shooters outside of Neil (it makes it a real challenge)," Shumway said. "Luckily, they didn't shoot the ball really well tonight. They hit some late, but you're going to have to choose if you're going to give up 3s or 2s.

"I'm not saying we let Neil have his, but we're going to give a contested 2 over an open 3 in the corner."

Pressure started to mount as a mid-range jumper from Talich put hum at 11 points in the half. Laramie was able to score in transition before Alexander took a charge from Central junior Blake Cox.

"If one of their big three had a big night, we were going to be in trouble," Evans said. "Talich got off to a pretty hot start. Unfortunately, we were ice cold again offensively and couldn't get layups or free throws or 3s.

"Those are all very uncharacteristic things, but credit to coach (Shaffer)."

LHS came out hot to start the second half, as senior Karson Busch and Alexander gave the Plainsmen a 5-0 run. Smith then added four points along with two steals in the first two minutes of play.

A Busch layup gave Laramie it's first lead in the half. Three additional lead changes came during the third quarter.

Busch later knocked down a 3 of his own, putting the Indians down three. However, Sawyer started to get going, scoring the final four points of the period to give Central a 39-38 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of action.

"The third quarter, we lost that quarter," Shumway said. "We needed to be better. It was a little bit of us feeling it coming into the half. We were up six, but after that third quarter, it was us needing to get back to what we were doing, not what they were doing."

Sawyer added another 3-pointer before LHS got back within two. However, Sawyer went on to score 10 points in the final frame to help seal the deal.

With the game tied late in the fourth, Shumway got a college-distance 3-pointer to fall after rattling around the rim and tapping the backboard. LHS had an opportunity to take the lead after Summers' 20th point of the night, and a Sawyer layup on the following possession was no good.

But with little time remaining, Laramie was forced to foul. Central finished 12-of-16 (75%) from the charity stripe in the game.

"I was shaking," Talich said. "I wasn't even thinking I was going to make them, but I did."

The Plainsmen got to the free-throw line half as much the Indians and were the less efficient team all around. LHS shot 25-of-63 (39.7%) from the field, compared to the Indians 22-of-47 (46.8%).

Neither team shot especially well from deep, but Central's 6-of-18 (33.3%) mark was a slight advantage over Laramie's 5-of-20 (25%).

Sawyer finished with a team-best 19 points on 6-of-12 (50%) shooting from the floor and tied for a team-best seven rebounds. The senior also made 5-of-6 (83.3%) free throws to pair with three assists and zero turnovers.

Talich tallied 18 points and matched Sawyer's three assists. The 6-foot-4 senior also added a block and a steal. Shumway chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.

"I was able to do something my brother (Nathanial Talich) never could, which was being a two-time state champ," Talich said.

Summers led the Plainsmen with 20 points and 15 rebounds. He finished the season with 18 double-doubles in 26 games. Alexander aided LHS with 13 points after making three 3-pointers in the second half.

Smith chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. Four of those rebounds were on the offensive glass, giving LHS second-chance opportunities. The game marked the fifth matchup between 4A's best teams, with Central taking the season series 3-2.

"It's honestly too good to be true," Shumway said. "You dream of these things, and it came true."

Added Sawyer: "Knowing everyone here since fifth grade, and some before (makes this so much sweeter). Nine seniors, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. It ended exactly the way it was supposed to."

CENTRAL 62, LARAMIE 59

Cheyenne Central........ 12 14 13 23 — 62

Laramie........ 12 8 18 21 — 59

Cheyenne Central: Bradley 2-4 0-0 4, Shumway 2-5 3-4 9, Tafoya 1-3 1-1 3, Talich 7-13 3-5 18, Brown 3-7 0-0 7, Mar. DeHoff 1-3 0-0 2, Sawyer 6-12 5-6 19, Cox 00- 0-0 0. Totals: 24-47 12-16 62.

Laramie: Busch 4-8 0-2 9, Sanchez 3-6 0-1 6, McKinney 0-4 0-0 0, Alexander 5-13 0-0 13, Smith 4-12 2-2 11, Summers 9-20 2-3 20. Totals: 25-63 4-8 59.

3-pointers: CHS 6-18 (Shumway 2-3, Tafoya 0-1, Talich 1-4, Brown 1-4, Mar. DeHoff 0-2, Sawyer 2-4); LHS 5-20 (Busch 1-3, Sanchez 0-2, McKinney 0-3, Alexander 3-9, Smith 1-2, Summers 0-1). Rebounds: CHS 32 (Shumway 7, Sawyer 7); LHS 37 (Summers 15). Assists: CHS 12 (Talich 3, Sawyer 3); LHS 9 (Busch 4). Turnovers: CHS 9 (Shumway 4); LHS 7 (Three with 2). Steals: CHS 2 (Talich, Brown), LHS 7 (Alexander 2, Smith 2). Blocked shots: LHS 2 (Summers, Sanchez); CHS 1 (Talich). Team fouls: CHS 14, LHS 17.

Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.