A new rivalry was created. Owyhee robbed it of any drama with a blowout victory
The student sections at Owyhee and Eagle high schools spent the past week building the hype for a new rivalry, dubbed the Battle of the Bolt, between their boys basketball teams.
The drumbeat created a sellout crowd and an electric atmosphere Tuesday at Eagle High. But Owyhee refused to provide any drama on the court, triggering the running-clock mercy rule for the entire fourth quarter en route to a 71-38 road victory.
“We were communicating and we were hitting shots,” Owyhee junior guard Liam Campbell said. “I feel like we’re passing the ball super well. Our chemistry has gotten better and better every time we’ve played, and we’re just going to keep building on that.”
The No. 5-ranked Storm (8-4, 4-1 5A SIC) dominated every category on the stat sheet, shooting 26-for-47 (55%) from the floor, racking up a 36-20 edge in rebounds and committing just three turnovers to cruise in a heavily anticipated matchup of the preseason favorites in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.
A back-and-forth first quarter turned into a laugher after Owyhee closed the first half on an 18-2 run for a 24-point halftime lead. Eagle (9-6, 4-2) never got any closer the rest of the night.
Campbell caught fire during that run, scoring eight of those 18 points. The four-star recruit and the SIC’s leading scorer finished with a game-high 20 points, sinking 7-of-11 shots in just 17 minutes, 27 seconds on the floor.
“He’s a special player,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said. “Some of the stuff he did, I probably shouldn’t have been dancing the way I was. But it’s just a joy coaching him and watching him play.”
The defending state champs entered the season with sky-high expectations, finishing as the unanimous favorite in the 5A SIC preseason coaches’ poll. Owyhee has more losses now (four) than it did all of last year (three) thanks to a loaded nonconference schedule. And an upset loss at Mountain View two weeks ago erased the aura of invincibility surrounding the program, leaving Owyhee looking up in the 5A SIC standings.
But Tuesday’s blowout victory reaffirms the Storm as one of the state’s most dangerous teams.
“We always want to get better,” Owyhee sophomore Jayce Allen said. “Even if it’s a loss, we know we’re going to learn something from playing these good teams than going somewhere else and winning by 40.”
Allen provided a spark from long range, scoring 14 points while sinking 4-of-5 3-pointers. And Jackson Rasmussen added 10 points and six rebounds as Owyhee ran away with the stunning victory.
“We’ve been trying to find our identity,” Harrington said. “It’s taken a long time. We’ve been experimenting a ton, and we’ve been talking about getting our edge back.
“When you’re getting hunted a lot, it’s hard to get everyone’s best game. I didn’t feel like we were preparing the right way. I felt like after Mountain View, our preparation started to turn. I saw more maturity from certain guys.”
Landon White led Eagle with 13 points, and Sawyr Hansen added 10 points for the Mustangs, who saw their six-game winning streak snapped.
“This will not define our season if we don’t let it,” Eagle coach Cody Pickett said. “It’s a league loss. Obviously, when you lose the way we did, it hurts.
“They are a good basketball team, and we’ll get better and bounce back.”
Eagle won the first spirit competition in the Battle for the Bolt. The rivalry trophy featured a lightning bolt, a nod to Owyhee’s mascot (Storm) and Eagle’s use of the word “Thunder” on its football stadium, for its band and in its student cheers.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 11:22 PM with the headline "A new rivalry was created. Owyhee robbed it of any drama with a blowout victory."
