Following the Kemmerer Rangers’ exit from the 2024 2A State Basketball Tournament last February, then-senior Chase Bowen figured that was the end of his high school career on the hardwood.

And what a career it was. As a senior, Bowen averaged a double-double (20.7 points, 11.2 rebounds per game), and was named to the 2A All-State team, as well as the 2A Southwest All-Conference team; as a junior, he was a 2A Southwest All-Conference selection, and was named the 2A Southwest Player of the Year for 2023-24.

Great accolades to call it a career on, to be sure.

Turns out, however, Bowen had one game left to play. When rosters were announced at the beginning of July for the 2024 Wyoming Coaches Foundation All-Star Games, the recent Kemmerer High School graduate found himself on the South roster, selected by a committee of coaches as one of the Top 10 seniors from the state’s southern half.

“It actually meant a lot to me,” Bowen said of his selection. “Ever since I found out about the All-Star Games, it was a goal of mine to make it. The week of practice before the game was a really cool experience; being able to play against a bunch of athletes at a higher level of basketball, and having them push me at that higher level.”

Practices began July 17 in Casper, with the game played Saturday, July 20, at Casper College’s Thunderbird Gymnasium.

While Bowen enjoyed the lead-up to the North v. South game, the game itself didn’t quite go South’s way. The North went on a 17-2 run to open the game, and never looked back, surviving a late rally by the South to win 80-69.

The South was able to pull within two points by the break, and trailed just 30-28 headed into the second half. Any momentum the South had

at the end of the first half quickly dissipated at the beginning of the second, however, as shots stopped falling.

“We as a team didn’t really finish around the rim all that well, we also couldn’t get the three ball to go down in the first half much either,” Bowen explained. “We just came out really flat in the first and third quarters, making it so we had to catch up the rest of the game. But we kept it respectable.”

Bowen was the third-leading scorer on the South roster, finishing with eight points. Playing with so many of the top players in the state was a little intimidating at first, but he quickly settled in.

“I was a little nervous for the game, but once the ball was tipped, it just felt like another game,” he said. “I was able to get a few buckets, and I was, overall, pretty happy with how I played.”

With his high school career now officially over, Bowen will head to Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs in the fall, where he’s enrolled in the electrical and instrumentation program. While he has no plans currently to play ball for the Mustangs, Bowen said he’ll keep playing pickup ball for fun. The North v. South All-Star Game was a good way to end his competitive career.

“I think what I’ll remember most is just how fun it was getting to know and play with a bunch of other really talented ball players,” he said.