ST. STEPHENS – The Big Piney High School Puncher boys’ basketball team netted their third conference win with a resounding 69-41 victory against St. Stephens on Friday, Feb. 9. Big Piney’s triumph placed the Punchers firmly in the No. 2 spot in the 2A Southwest Quadrant two weeks before the postseason.

Big Piney’s defense set the momentum in the second quarter against St. Stephens, with steals by juniors Cael Espenscheid and Ashton Bennett and a block by fellow junior Bill Hibbert.

Hibbert made another block in the second quarter.

Big Piney pulled ahead of St. Stephens by 10 points, 56-46, in the fourth quarter following a 3-pointer by junior Cole Walton.

In addition to topping St. Stephens in points, Big Piney won the boards, out-rebounding St. Stephens, 54-37. The Punchers also shared the ball well, tallying 21 assists compared to eight by St. Stephens.

On Saturday, the Punchers squared off against Wyoming Indian High School (WIHS), a tougher nut to crack. WIHS entered the game with an undefeated 5-0 conference record.

WIHS outscored Big Piney, 23-16, in the first quarter and continued to widen its lead in the second quarter. A trio of points from the charity stripe by Hibbert narrowed WIHS’ lead to 10 points, 36-26, at halftime.

WIHS maintained the pressure into the third and fourth quarters to prevail, 76-58.

Week 10 stat rundown

Big Piney’s starting lineup filled out the stat sheet as the team entered week 10 of competition.

Senior Reuben Stoutenburg netted 333 season points for the Punchers by week 10, along with 132 rebounds, 69 assists and six blocks.

Stoutenburg leads the 2A West Conference in assists, averaging 3.6 per game. The senior is also a conference leader in scoring (No. 5) with 17.5 points per game. On the boards, Stoutenburg averaged 6.9 rebounds per game, the No. 7 spot in the conference.

Stoutenburg is third in the conference for free throws, shooting at an impressive 80 percent from the charity stripe (netting 60 shots out of 75 attempts).

Espenscheid’s week 10 totals included 128 points, 106 rebounds, 35 assists and 35 steals. The junior leads the team in steals.

Espenscheid is ranked No. 7 in the 2A West Conference in netting 3-pointers, shooting at 33 percent from the outside. He is also a leader in steals (No. 9 in the conference), averaging 1.8 per game.

By week 10, Hibbert totaled 234 points, 124 rebounds, 55 assists and 29 steals. Hibbert is ranked No. 9 in the 2A West Conference in scoring at 12.3 points per game. The junior is No. 3 for assists at 2.9 per game.

Bennett found himself with 103 points, 65 rebounds, 28 assists and 10 steals at the end of week 10. The junior is a conference leader in free throws (No. 4 in the 2A West) with a 78-percent shooting rate from the charity stripe.

Week 10 totals for Walton included 145 points, 55 rebounds, 23 assists and 22 steals. Walton is third in the 2A West Conference for 3-pointers, shooting at 36 percent from outside the perimeter. The junior is eighth for free throws with a 70-percent shooting rate from the charity stripe.