Talich, Sawyer combine for 45 to lead Central to win over Riverton
Mar. 7—CASPER — Seniors Chase Talich and Joe Sawyer delivered vintage performances during Cheyenne Central first-round matchup with Riverton in the Class 4A state tournament Thursday night at Casper College.
The duo dominated both halves of play, combining for 45 points to send Central to the semifinals with a 73-48 win.
"Obviously, Chase had a great start and got us going a bit, and Joe has just been Joe all year," Central coach Jim Shaffer said. "I hope whatever (Chase) is eating, that he eats it again.
"...What I was most pleased with was our defensive effort. We did a good job guarding those guys and making life tough on them."
Central jumped out to a 20-9 lead through the first seven minutes of the quarter, thanks to 13 first-quarter points from Talich. Riverton's shooting helped keep them in the game and just before the quarter ended, Darrick DeVries sunk a 3-pointer to get the Wolverines back within single digits.
Talich's shooting streak continued into the second quarter, where he potted six of the team's 13 points in the frame. It also helped Central build its lead to 13 with less than 90 seconds to play in the half. But once again, Riverton closed out the half with two consecutive buckets to cut Central's lead back to single digits.
Talich finished the first half with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. His importance was also felt on the defensive end, where he managed to pick up a pair of steals.
"It's just confidence," Talich said. "Teammates build up confidence (in me), and I just have to keep it rolling."
Central built its lead to 15 points to start the third quarter, thanks to a 6-0 run and a 10-4 stretch. Riverton managed to cut the lead back to 11 points, but a deep 3-pointer by Sammy Shumway put the Indians up 16. With less than 90 seconds to play in the middle frame, three consecutive 3-pointers put Central up by 21 points — its biggest lead of the game to that point.
While the first half belonged to Talich, the second half belonged to Sawyer. After being held to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field, Sawyer erupted for 16 points in the second half — 11 of which came in the third quarter.
"It just goes back to if one of us isn't doing well, (another player) is," Talich said. "The first half was mine, and the second half was Joe's.
"... (There wasn't any internal competition), but we chirp each other for fun."
Riverton, meanwhile, struggled to keep up with Central's scoring in the second half. While its offense was able to keep up with Central's in the first half, the Indians' defense clamped down and prevented the Wolverines from getting easy looks at the rim.
In total, the Indians held Riverton to just 8-of-24 from the field in second half (33.3%). It also held Riverton's best scorer, Parker Paxton, to just seven points in the game.
"If we play defense like this, we have a chance to beat anybody," Shaffer said. "That's going to be the key for us to get out and guard and make things harder for people on the offensive end."
CENTRAL 73, RIVERTON 48
Riverton...... 12 12 8 16 — 48
Cheyenne Central..... 20 13 20 20 — 73
Riverton: DeVries 5-15 2-2 14, Sheets 5-13 0-0 12, Paxton 2-9 3-4 7, Monroe 1-1 0-0 3, Lucas 2-3 0-0 4, Smith 3-4 1-2 7, Gantenbien 0-1 0-0 0 . Totals: 18-47 7-10 48
Cheyenne Central: Bradley 1-6 0-0 2, Shumway 2-4 2-2 8, Tafoya 1-3 0-0 2, C. Talich 11-15 1-1 27, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Mar. DeHoff 1-1 0-0 , Sawyer 8-15 0-0 18, Davis 1-1 0-0 3, Mas. DeHoff 2-4 0-0 5. Totals: 28-52 7-7 73.
3-pointers: RIV 5-19 (Gantenbien 0-1, DeVries 2-7, Sheets 2-5, Dale 0-1, Paxton 0-4, Monroe 1-1); CC 10-18 (Shumway 2-2, Tafoya 0-1, Talich 4-7, Mas. Brown 0-1, Davis 1-1, Mas. DeHoff 1-2). Rebounds: RIV 24 (Smith 9); CC 31 (Shumway 4, Tafoya 4). Assists: RIV 6 (DeVries 4), CC 20 (Mas. DeHoff 6); Turnovers: RIV 14 (Three with 2); CC 10 (Tafoya 3). Steals: RIV 3 (Smith 2); CC 9 (Talich 3). Blocks: CC 1 (Shumway), RIV 3 (Smith 2); Team fouls: RIV 10, CC 11.
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.
