Eagle, Owyhee clinch boys basketball state bids, set up rematch for district title
The rematch everyone wanted is coming.
Owyhee (20-3) and Eagle (20-3) clinched their state tournament berths Monday at Meridian High with wins in the 5A District Three Tournament semifinals, setting up a rematch for the district title.
No. 3-ranked Eagle took the first meeting against No. 2 Owyhee in the game of the year so far, pulling off an 80-76 victory after four overtimes. Now the two will meet for the district championship trophy at 7 p.m. Friday at Meridian.
“We’re excited,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said. “Obviously, that one stung. We’ve wanted to play them for a while and we haven’t. We’re looking forward to it.”
FIRST-YEAR OWYHEE HEADED TO STATE
The first season for new schools is typically ugly. But not for Owyhee.
The Storm clinched the school’s first state berth in any sport by weathering an early onslaught and then holding off a late Meridian rally for a 57-54 victory on the Warriors’ home court.
The defending state champ jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the game’s opening minutes. Owyhee retook the lead to end the first quarter and never trailed again. But the game came with its hairy moments for the Storm.
Meridian (15-8) pulled within one point with 1:54 left before Jack Payne rode to the rescue with several key plays en route to a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
First, the Colorado State commit stole an outlet pass and muscled in a 3-footer through two defenders to boost the lead back to three points with 1:32 on the clock. Then he swatted a potential game-tying shot 50 feet into the backcourt with 26 seconds left.
Freshman Jackson Rasmussen eventually ended up with the loose ball, and he sank 1-of-2 free throws with 20 seconds left for the final margin.
“Jack’s a really high-level player,” Harrington said. “He made some huge senior plays for us down the stretch that we needed.
“He’s going to be a guy that will be remembered for a long time at Owyhee. The one year he’s been here, he’s been really special.”
Payne was the only Owyhee senior to see the floor Monday, and he even took over point guard duties as Meridian threatened a comeback. But he credited his young supporting cast for standing tall.
“With how young we were, we played really mature tonight,” Payne said. “It was just a lot of fun to see how the freshmen really came out and showed. They were the reason we won tonight.”
Owyhee sophomore Liam Campbell finished with 13 points, and Rasmussen added 10.
Austin Ramos scored 14 points to lead Meridian, and Ladu Kaden and Davis Thacker each added eight. The Warriors drop into the consolation bracket of the district tournament, where they take on Centennial (13-10) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Timberline. The winner advances to state.
EAGLE SHUTS DOWN MOUNTAIN VIEW
After a back-and-forth first half that saw six lead changes, Eagle locked down in the second half to secure a state tournament berth for the fourth straight year with a 47-36 victory.
The Mustangs held Mountain View (14-9) to just 14 points in the second half on 3-for-22 (14%) shooting. The Mavericks had only a single field goal for the final 9 minutes, 7 seconds.
“Defensively, we kind of just packed it in,” Eagle senior Donovan Jones said. “We communicated a lot better in the second half than we did in the first half. When we communicate, we’re a hard team to play against.”
Guarding a four-point lead to start the fourth quarter, Eagle slowed the game and strangled Mountain View with its suffocating defense and a dwindling clock. That forced the Mavericks to foul, and the Mustangs secured the win with a 12-for-17 performance at the line in the final eight minutes.
Jones led a balanced Eagle scoring effort with 10 points. Tyler Peters added nine points, Gage Jones had eight and Landon White finished with seven to set up the rematch with Owyhee and give the Mustangs a shot at their first district title since 2010.
“I lost my voice. I’m so excited to be in the district championship,” Eagle coach Cody Pickett said. “I joked with my guys that you can bring the Lakers in. I don’t care.”
Bayler Perrin scored a game-high 15 points, and Nate Ojukwu added nine points and seven rebounds for Mountain View, which faces Timberline at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Timberline (15-9) in a winner-to-state consolation game.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 10:56 PM.
