The Evanston boys’ basketball team suffered its first conference loss against Kelly Walsh on Friday, Feb. 16. The No. 1 Red Devils lost to the Trojans with a heartbreaking final score of 52–51. 

“This game was a wake-up call,” said Red Devils head coach Lex Cornia. “We thought we could keep making the same mistakes we’ve been making all season and still survive. When a team is playing good basketball on their court, you can’t just expect to survive. 

Cornia discussed the challenges the Red Devils failed to overcome in the close loss to Kelly Walsh.

“We’ve been in similar situations before,” Cornia said. “We can’t turn the ball over in close game situations, and we can’t allow teams to get rebounds and second chances.”

But on Saturday, Feb. 17, the Evanston Red Devils turned around to beat Natrona 59–54.

“I’m not going to complain about a win,” Cornia said. “We definitely figured some things out on Saturday, but there are some things we still really need to work on.”

The Red Devils are now 16–4 on the season and 8–1 in conference play. 

“Everybody in our conference has upped their level of play,” Cornia said. “Games that we used to take by maybe 15 points are now down to the wire.”

Cornia said the Red Devils’ No. 1 state ranking may have encouraged both opponents to step up against Evanston.

“We definitely got both teams’ best shots,” Cornia said. “There’s that issue of being ranked number one in the state and having people come after us.” 

Cornia said the Red Devils are looking to learn from the weekend’s split and focus in practice on the upcoming game against Jackson and the regional tournament. 

“We need to work on rebounds and distributing the ball better, and playing as a unit,” Cornia said. “The smartest team usually wins. We have to look for the smart shots.”

The Red Devils coach acknowledged that the Evanston team may be feeling the pressure of the end of the long basketball season.

“It’s a tough time of the year,” Cornia said. “These boys have played a lot of basketball. We gave them Monday off because of the heavy weekend and because we don’t play until Saturday.”

Cornia said the break is a chance for his team to catch their breath and prepare for the upcoming games.

“They are starting to realize that they should enjoy the chance to be playing the game with their friends, because it’s almost over,” Cornia said.

The No. 1 Red Devils take on Jackson on Feb. 24, to wrap up the regular basketball season. The Jackson Broncs are 6–12 on the season and 2–7 in conference play. 

“This weekend showed us we’re just as good as any team, but we’re also just as bad as any team on any given night,” Cornia said. “But we now know that when we get things together, we’re a dangerous team that can contend for a state title.”