Boys state basketball: Top teams roll, but an upset and a surprise run top the day
The Idaho high school boys basketball state tournaments kicked into high gear Thursday. Here’s a recap of the packed day.
You can see all the latest scores and updated matchups in our state tournament brackets.
STATE TOURNAMENT HEADLINES
- Boise makes history: The Brave upset Rigby 50-47 to qualify for the 5A semifinals for the first time since 1997. Boise (8-6) will face Lake City (17-6) at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Idaho Center.
- Meridian cruises: The No. 1-ranked Warriors had no problem with rival Mountain View, running away with a 63-50 win. Meridian (18-1) will battle Madison (20-4) in the 5A semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at the Idaho Center.
- Middleton reaches semis: The 4A classification’s No. 1-ranked team crushed its first-round opponent, Jerome. The Vikings (21-4) face Hillcrest (19-8) in the 4A semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Rocky Mountain.
- Riverstone to the Idaho Center: The Otters continued their surprise run with a 63-53 win over Lakeside in the 1A Division I semifinals. Riverstone (15-0) takes on perennial power Lapwai (19-4) at 2 p.m. Friday at the Idaho Center.
- Garden Valley returns to finals: The No. 1-ranked Wolverines beat Rockland 64-50 in the 1A Division II semifinals to make it back to the Idaho Center for the second time in three years. Garden Valley (23-1) faces Dietrich (20-5) at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
Boise 50, Rigby 47: Little went right for Boise this season.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed its season five weeks. Then a positive COVID-19 in the program delayed it another two weeks. And once they could finally play, the Brave limped out to a 2-5 start.
But those were all just hurdles to overcome. Boise upset Rigby on Thursday for its first state tournament victory since 1997.
“It’s huge,” Boise senior Jack Goode said of the win. “It’s such a big honor and so awesome to be on such an amazing team like this.”
Thursday resembled much of Boise’s season. The Brave got off to a slow start, trailing by 12 points in the second quarter. But they caught fire when it mattered, and now have won six of their past seven games.
Boise was the last public school in the state to play its first game, on Jan. 19. That left the Brave behind opponents in court time, conditioning and game experience. But six weeks later, Boise found the right mixture to power its way into the semifinals, where it will face Lake City at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
“It’s just taken some people a longer time to get back in basketball shape because not everyone had the same access to gyms (during quarantine),” Goode said. “Honestly, it’s just chemistry. This starting five we’re playing now hasn’t played much basketball together. It’s just taken time for us to gel and learn each other’s plays and tendencies.”
A 10-0 run to end the third quarter gave Boise its first lead since 2-0. The Brave and Rigby (17-8) then swapped three lead changes in the final 90 seconds. But a tic-tac-toe series of passes from Jack Payne to Goode to Cooper Howell for an open layup with 36 seconds left gave Boise the final lead.
Senior Whitt Miller then made two free throws with 7.7 seconds left to set the final score.
Goode led the way Thursday, scoring 17 points. Payne added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Howell finished with nine points and four assists.
Boise’s boys basketball program struggled for years, missing the state tournament 19 years in a row at one point. The Brave went two-and-out at the 2017 and 2018 state tournaments. But Boise coach Manny Varela said those trips to state changed the mindset of his players, none of whom were alive when Boise played in the 1997 state tournament.
“That is the expectation for us,” Varela said of playing at state. “There are nine other teams (in the 5A SIC) that want to get in the way of that, but we’re always striving to get back. We believe that we belong here.”
A win Friday would prove Boise belongs in the finals for the first time since 1991. Boise’s last state title was in 1986.
Meridian 63, Mountain View 50: The Warriors showed why they are the team to beat in 5A, jumping out to a 14-2 lead in the opening 4 minutes and never looking back. The win sends Meridian (18-1) to the semifinals for the first time since 2003.
Meridian led by as many as 23 points before Mountain View closed the gap in the closing minutes.
Senior Brody Rowbury dominated, racking up 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting. Joe Mpoyo added 14 points, McKay Anderson scored 11 and Davis Thacker chipped in nine as Meridian showcased its firepower all over the floor.
Noah White scored a game-high 20 points for Mountain View (10-9), which faces Eagle in an elimination game at 7 p.m. Friday at Ridgevue High.
Lake City 65, Rocky Mountain 57: The Grizzlies cut a 14-point deficit to one with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter. But Lake City’s Jack Kiesbuy drained a corner 3 on the ensuing possession, and the Timberwolves sank 4-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to hang on.
Rocky Mountain (15-4) struggled behind the 3-point line, finishing 7-for-31 (23%) after falling into an early hole. Blake Munk and Drew Fielder each scored 16 points, and Cortez Graham added 14 points and five steals for the Grizzlies.
Four Lake City (17-6) players finished in double figures: sophomores Blake Buchanan (19 points), Zach Johnson (15 points) and Kolton Mitchell (13 points), and Kiebsuy (10 points), a senior.
Madison 70, Eagle 54: The Bobcats shot 50% from the floor (25-for-50) behind a balanced attack to run past Eagle.
Madison’s Braxton Pierce led the way with 14 points, while Taden King added 13 and Eli Randall scored 10. The Bobcats built a nine-point lead at halftime and never let Eagle seriously threaten in the second half.
Rafael Labrador scored a game-high 21 points for Eagle (13-8) and Gage Jones added 11 points.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
Bishop Kelly 56, Lakeland 44: The Knights flexed their defensive muscle, holding Lakeland to 29% shooting.
Bishop Kelly (17-5) nursed a two-point lead at halftime before pulling away with a 16-7 advantage in the third.
Three Knights finished in double figures. Tommy Hunter scored 17 points, and Aidan McGarvin and Blake Hawthorne each added 10.
Bishop Kelly advances to face Preston in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Rocky Mountain High.
Middleton 59, Jerome 41: The Vikings took a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed, leading by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter before the reserves came in.
Middleton caught fire early and finished 8-for-17 on 3-pointers. The Vikings are in the semifinals for the second year in a row.
Junior Tyler Medaris scored 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting while tallying five assists. Cash Cowdery added 15 points for Middleton, and Owen Graviet scored 10 off the bench.
Middleton is trying to reach its first 4A championship game and win its first 4A title since 1965.
Preston 47, Twin Falls 43: The Indians (18-7) held off a late comeback to return to the semifinals for the sixth straight year.
Gabe Hammons led Preston with 13 points, while Braden Hess added 12 and Brecker Knapp scored 10.
Hillcrest 44, Skyline 39: The Knights (19-8) avenged two losses to their city rival. Hillcrest’s Garrett Phippen scored a game-high 13 points and teammate Cooper Kesler added 12.
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
McCall-Donnelly 59, Priest River 42: The Vandals (10-2) are one step away from reaching the first championship game in program history.
McCall-Donnelly’s DJ Green scored a game-high 20 points while adding four assists. Alex Johnson finished with 15 points, and Ethan Tinney chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds as the Vandals led the entire way.
McCall-Donnelly will face Snake River in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Columbia High.
Snake River 86, Fruitland 76, OT: The Panthers (21-5) finally got the better of Fruitland, outscoring the Grizzlies 13-3 in overtime after losing to them at state four times in the past five years.
Snake River’s Mitch Lindsay led all scorers with 27 points, and teammate Noah Watt added 22.
Dylon Watson scored 23 points and Hyrum Lindsey finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out for Fruitland (16-7). The loss ended the Grizzlies’ 11-game winning streak.
2A STATE TOURNAMENT
Ambrose 56, Bear Lake 44: The Archers (20-2) forced 19 turnovers and led the entire way to advance to the semifinals in their first season as a 2A program.
Ambrose junior Johnny Sugarman drained 7-of-12 3-pointers to score a game-high 23 points, and fellow junior Hudson Hughes added 17 points.
The Archers, the defending 1A Division I champion, will face Wendell (17-7) at 7 p.m. Friday for a spot in the championship game.
Wendell 29, New Plymouth 27: The Trojans held New Plymouth to two points in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.
Neither team shot better than 28% from the field in the defensive slugfest, and Wendell overcame a 36-27 deficit in rebounding.
Casey Arritola, Tony Ray and Matt Hall each scored six points to lead New Plymouth (17-9).
St. Maries 63, Melba 52: The Mustangs (19-5) jumped out to a five-point lead in the first quarter before St. Maries (21-1) came roaring back.
St. Maries out rebounded Melba 42-28 to set up a semifinal against North Fremont (21-0), a 53-44 winner over West Side. Tristan Gentry led the Lumberjacks with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Randie Becktel added 11 points.
Josh Leavitt paced Melba with 16 points, while Braden Volkers chipped in 13.
1A DIVISION I STATE TOURNAMENT
Riverstone 63, Lakeside 53: The Otters (15-0) had never won anything but a consolation bracket game at state entering the week. Now they’ll play for the championship Friday.
Lakeside cut the lead to one point with 3 minutes left in the semifinal matchup. But Riverstone responded with a 12-2 run highlighted by Charlie DeBoer’s two-handed dunk to put the game away.
DeBoer scored 21 points, while Nick Liebich added 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists despite foul trouble.
Kenyon Spotted Horse scored a game-high 28 points and added 12 rebounds for Lakeside (15-5).
Lapwai (19-4) crushed Grace 69-47 in the other semifinal behind Titus Yearout’s 26 points.
1A DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
Garden Valley 64, Rockland 50: The Wolverines broke out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter and steamrolled their way into the finals.
Garden Valley’s Covy Kelly racked up 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Josh Gillespie added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Corban Fields added 14 points and six rebounds.
The win sets up a rematch with Dietrich, a 68-51 winner over Richfield. Garden Valley beat Dietrich 77-72 on Jan. 15 in Garden Valley in one of its closest games of the year.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 5:33 PM.
