Vikings gain state basketball experience at Ford Wyoming Center

Mark DeLap
Posted 3/9/21

The Guernsey Vikings, who finished the year with a 12-9 record and a Wyoming Division 1A boys state tournament appearance

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Vikings gain state basketball experience at Ford Wyoming Center

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CASPER – The Guernsey Vikings, who finished the year with a 12-9 record and a Wyoming Division 1A boys state tournament appearance, made a small community proud of their efforts during this year’s basketball season.

At the beginning of the season, there were questions as to whether this team could even make it to the .500 mark and hope “wasn’t springing eternal.” But the boys worked hard, stuck together and proved themselves to the conference, the opposing teams, the community and perhaps most of all, themselves.

The credit comes from the top, down. In only his second year at Guernsey and with a lot of holes to fill, Coach Taylor Dick with assistant Coach Curtis Cook put together a sound game plan and made Guernsey basketball exciting with the up-tempo style of play. Ever the disciplinarian, Coach D is a no-nonsense coach with an old-school mentality that teaches repercussions for actions, such as being late for practice causing lost time on the court. These coaches are not just teaching a game, they are preparing young men for a life experience as they leave Guernsey.

“Hopefully, we can take care of business,” Coach D said before the trip to the state tournament. “We have work to do, still. All the practicing is over. These are the games that matter. These are the games we have to get mentally prepared for. It’s a whole new season and new experience. It’s win or go home. We play as a team, we win, we play hero ball because it’s all on the line and we could dig ourselves into trouble. I know the kids want to see what the next level is like. I’ll do my best to help them get there. We now have a season where we have won a lot. Now we need to learn how to win in the postseason. I have faith that we can
do that.”

Those words were spoken from a young coach, not a seasoned veteran which shows the maturity and the wisdom at the helm.

The boys got a chance to play two games in Casper at the state tournament. One game at the Ford Wyoming Center and the other at Casper College. Only 8 boys 1A teams earned the honor to step on those courts and Guernsey was one of them. Every other team from that division had to watch the stream. 

Both opponents that Guernsey was dealt was a legitimate contender for the state title, and in fact, the only losses the Vikings sustained was from the Wyoming State 1A basketball runner-up (Saratoga – also the 2020 Wyoming state champion) and the Wyoming State 1A consolation champion, Farson-Eden.

In the first game the boys came out and scored more points than they had ever scored against Saratoga as they surrendered 68-33.  Brock Hohnholt led all scorers with 11 points, Brian McCoid had 10 points, Tristan Hohnholt had 3 points, Dawson Bingham had 3 points, Cole Skilbred, Justin Malcom, and Caleb Christiansen each contributed 2 points. McCoid led the team in rebounding with 6 boards. It also is worthy to note that the Vikings pulled down 34 rebounds from the best rebounding team in the division, stole the ball 9 times, blocked two shots.

At the beginning of the season, the team was without starter Brian McCoid due to recovering from a broken wrist and heart surgery. He did not come back until after Christmas break as did transfer student Cole Skilbred.

With each game the Guernsey coaches had to reestablish lineups and find the right chemistry. Never an easy thing to do, but with the coaching expertise and the enthusiasm of a very united team, it was a prosperous year.

The second game at Casper College was against consolation champion Faron-Eden who beat the Vikes 77-49. Again, the bright spot for that game was the 49 points. Only two other teams all year scored more points than that, one being 2A Lyman and the other being Encampment. And neither of those teams got to put their feet on a state tournament court.

Kudos to a very good Guernsey team. Cheers to the ones who we’ll miss. Brock Hohnholt and Justin Malcom, you were great leaders who led your team well. To lose these captains will be a great loss. But under coaches Dick and Cook, there are now underclassmen with state court experience and the future looks very bright for a program who got to the big dance in just their second year of a rebuild.