A big night for this senior helped Borah win its first district title since 2016
The last time the Borah boys basketball team won a district title, Ellis Magnuson was a freshman and most of this year’s varsity team was either on the freshman or JV team.
The last two seasons, District Three’s champion at the 5A level had been Rocky Mountain, but in 2019, Magnuson’s senior year, the title returned to Borah thanks to a huge night from its senior leader.
Magnuson finished Friday’s game against Rocky Mountain, a 69-61 Borah win, with 31 points and seven assists and had a hand in 17 of the Lions’ 20 field goals. He shot 55 percent from the floor and knocked down 7-of-9 free-throw attempts while playing all 32 minutes.
“He’s been that way for three years,” Borah coach Jeremy Dennis said. “Ellis is definitely our leader. Our vocal leader and our leader on the floor. He is a stud.”
The win helped Borah win its 15th district championship in school history during its 51st winning season. The Lions have won at least 20 games in six of the last eight years and will appear in the state tournament for the 15th time in the last 17 seasons.
Both teams already clinched spots at next week’s state tournament and had combined for five losses through 46 games entering Friday. It was the third meeting of the season. In the last meeting, Austin Bolt was Borah’s hero. But on Friday, Bolt shot the ball three times and picked up three of his seven points at the free-throw line. This was Magnuson’s night.
“I knew I was going to have a good game,” Magnuson said. “I’ve put the work in.”
The game began with energy and intensity. Both offenses came out flying, combining for 30 points through the first six minutes, and the Rocky bench picked up a technical foul midway through the first quarter. Borah’s Isaac Drewberry knocked down a long two as time expired in the first quarter to pull Borah to within two, 20-18.
“I think it brought us up,” Drewberry said of his shot. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about it, but I think it gave us a spark.”
Borah opened the second on a 15-2 run, which forced a Rocky timeout midway through the second. A Briggs Ranstrom one-handed dunk later in the quarter gave the Grizzlies a late first-half momentum jolt, but the Lions took a nine-point lead to the locker room. Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field in the first half, but Magnuson was the only one with double figures in points (16).
The Grizzlies opened the third quarter on a 9-1 run and cut the Borah lead to one midway through the third. A Cooper Frith deep three gave the Grizzlies the lead with two minutes to go in the frame.
“We knew that the run was coming,” Dennis said.
But Peyton Phillips drained a three as time expired in the quarter, giving Borah a six-point lead heading to the fourth and a DeVaughn Williams three early in the fourth pushed Borah back up by double figures with 6 minutes to go.
“Every year we’ve competed, but this year is the year for us,” Mannuson said.
Williams finished the night with 14 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field. Drewberry finished with 10 on 3-of-5 shooting.
Rocky’s leading scorer was Townsend Tripple, who finished with 18. Frith had 10 and Jaden Hansen finished with 13.
The win gives Borah District Three’s top seed heading into the state tournament. The Lions will play the winner of Capital and Lewiston, who play each other at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Rocky takes the second seed and will play Post Falls at 1:15 p.m. Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center.
“It’s the toughest teams that make it through,” Magnuson said. “It’s not even the most talented, the most skilled. It’s the toughest.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 7:38 AM.