Rocky Mountain boys win another title — with a flourish. ‘You got dunked on …’
The Rocky Mountain High boys basketball team continued its dominance of Idaho on Friday, defeating Borah 50-38 to win its third 5A District Three championship in the past four years.
Last year, Borah broke Rocky Mountain’s streak with a win in the district championship game. This triumph gives Rocky Mountain, the state’s unanimous No. 1 team, its 20th win in a row.
While Rocky Mountain (22-1, 18-0 SIC) pulled away to an early lead, 12-6 at the end of the first quarter, Borah stuck around and made a few runs to keep itself in the game. Isaac Dewberry hit two 3-pointers in the last 90 seconds of the first half and heaved the ball full court to Austin Bolt for a layup with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. After the halftime break, Borah went on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to three points, 32-29.
“I love getting pushed like that,” Rocky Mountain coach Dane Roy said. “I knew Borah was going to do it … (they) really hit us in the mouth.”
However, that was the closest Borah (20-4, 15-3) would get. Rocky Mountain picked up its defense and proved why it hasn’t lost to an Idaho team yet this season.
“We know that not every game is going to be a blowout,” junior guard Jaden Hansen said. “We were ready for a close game. We just battled, and we wanted it more.”
The nail in the coffin came with 4 minutes left in the game. Briggs Ranstrom got the ball at the 3-point line and drove hard to the hoop. He jumped and, with both hands, dunked on Bolt, one of the best players in the state. Rocky Mountain’s student section chanted “you got dunked on,” while Borah’s entire fan base was silent. The lead was back to eight points, and Rocky Mountain had all the momentum.
“That’s a 12 out of 10, man,” Rocky’s Townsend Tripple said after the game. “When he came out and hit that, we (knew) this was over.”
Tripple led Rocky Mountain with 16 points and added seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks as well. Cooper Frith (11 points) and Jaden Hansen (10 points) were the other Grizzlies to score in double figures in a game in which both teams shot less than 32 percent from the field.
“When the shots weren’t falling, we just had to get down and dirty,” Tripple said.
Bolt scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Borah, while Dewberry also finished with 12 points. Borah was outrebounded 40-29 and only went to the free-throw line four times, compared to Rocky Mountain’s 19 attempts.
Both teams will prepare for the state tournament now. Borah will face the runner-up team from the Inland Empire League, while Rocky Mountain will move on to face Meridian on Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center. Last year, Rocky Mountain lost its first game against Post Falls and won the consolation bracket.
The Grizzlies refuse to focus on their 20-game winning streak.
“The past is in the past,” Tripple said. “We do have a good record, but we just focus on the next game and winning that game (as if) that game is the end of our season.”