KUNA — The Bishop Kelly High boys basketball team did exactly what it needed to do Saturday night at Kuna High.
Despite a second-half rally by the Kavemen, the Knights kept their composure and held on for a 52-45 victory in a matchup of two of the top teams in the 4A Southern Idaho Conference.
With the victory, Bishop Kelly (5-2, 3-0) maintains a share of first place in the 4A SIC with unbeaten Middleton (5-0, 3-0). Those teams meet for the first time this season Jan. 7 at Middleton.
Kuna (3-5, 2-2), meanwhile, falls into a four-way tie for third with Columbia, Emmett and Caldwell.
“I looked at this week on the schedule and thought we could have easily gone 0-2 this weekend and it wouldn’t have surprised me,” said Bishop Kelly coach Larry Crump, who had just three returning lettermen from last year’s district championship team. “I’m really pleased with our effort here tonight.”
The Knights had to play back-to-back games Friday and Saturday in combination with a grueling finals week at school, but still emerged with a pair of victories, including their first on the road.
After a fire alarm delayed the junior varsity game for nearly a half hour, the varsity game didn’t tip off until about 8:30 p.m.
The Knights didn’t seem to be phased by the half-hour wait outside in the cold.
“We were outside huddled in a circle, joking around and having a good time,” said BK senior Josh Meyers, who contributed a key eight points in the second half. “It gave us enough time to relax a little bit and gather our thoughts.”
Kuna took an early 5-0 lead with a Tyler Dubowsky jumper and a Kyle Hoch 3-pointer, but the Kavemen never led again.
Bishop Kelly responded with five consecutive baskets — including a pair of 3-pointers from Turner Simmons — to pull ahead 13-5 by the end of the first quarter.
The Knights continued their hot shooting from behind the arc in the second quarter, going 6-for-10 in the first half and taking a 30-19 lead into the locker room.
Despite trailing by as many as 13 points, the Kavemen didn’t fall apart in the second half.
After outscoring the Knights in the third quarter, Kuna pulled within 45-42 with a little more than 3 minutes to play with back-to-back drives to the hoop by Hoch.
“I’m pleased with the fact that we came back and cut it to within three and made it a ball game,” Kuna coach Randy Brothers said. “That was encouraging.”
