A ratty old shoe and a late rally keep Mountain View boys basketball atop the 5A SIC
Mountain View boys basketball coach Jon Nettleton only had one word to describe Tuesday night’s rivalry game against Meridian.
“Phenomenal,” he said.
The Mavericks rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Meridian 63-55 at home in the latest edition of the Stinky Sneaker rivalry. But the win didn’t just come with bragging rights. Mountain View’s ninth straight victory keeps the Mavericks (11-3, 5-0 5A SIC) in sole possession of first place in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference standings.
“After (the Las Vegas tournament), we needed to lock in and get ready for SIC play,” Mountain View freshman Logan Haustveit said. “We needed to take whatever people were saying and just throw it away. And I think we’ve done a good job of that so far.”
Meridian (8-7, 4-2) had other ideas. The Warriors beat Mountain View once earlier this season, and they raced out to a 26-11 lead with 5:32 left in the second quarter after Josh Christensen scored eight of his game-high 18 points on three straight possessions.
Mountain View senior Dawson Wahl sank a late three-pointer to cut the deficit to 34-23 at the half, but the Mavericks shot 8-for-27 (29.6%) from the field.
“We talked (at halftime) about how we had to play for each other,” Mountain View senior Dyson Judd said. “(Meridian was) outworking us in the first half and we were playing lazy, so we had to come out with fire and we had to work hard.”
That fire fueled Judd, Mountain View’s lone returning starter from last season. He scored eight points in a span of four minutes in the third quarter before banking in a putback to trim the Meridian lead to 40-39 with 3:23 left in the quarter.
Haustveit then found a driving Wahl inside the paint, and Wahl banked in a layup to complete the comeback and take the lead at 41-40.
“I like to bring the energy on defense and I think that’s what we’re good at as a team,” Wahl said. “It’s about starting on defense and getting it to our offense, and I think that really helped us today.”
Free throws from Wahl and Haustveit gave the Mavericks the lead for good at 58-55 with 1:54 to go in the fourth quarter. And a deep Haustveit 3-pointer inside the final minute put Mountain View out of reach at 63-55.
Wahl finished with a team-high 16 points off the bench. Judd and Haustveit provided 12 points each.
“This was the craziest game I’ve ever played in,” Haustveit said. “People doubted us, and it feels good to prove them wrong.”
After shooting 13-for-32 (40.6%) from the field in the first half, the Warriors cooled off in the second half by shooting 6-for-21 (28.6%).
Mountain View also won the Sneaky Sneaker spirit competition. The winner of the competition, not the game, receives the trophy of an old Chuck Taylor sneaker.
“To come in and have my one shot at Stinky Sneaker is awesome,” Wahl said. “It’s an awesome tradition between our two great schools to just go out, compete and have a lot of school spirit. It was an awesome atmosphere.”
TUESDAY’S STANDOUTS
- AJ LaBeau, Timberline (boys basketball): The 7-footer racked up 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 51-49 road win at Capital.
- Dan Bell, Columbia (boys basketball): Scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats to a 58-56 win over Bishop Kelly.
- Braxton Heffelfinger, Parma (boys basketball): Poured in 26 points in a nonconference, 60-48 win at Emmett.
- Colton Frates, New Plymouth (boys basketball): Posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists in an 81-30 rout of Compass Charter.
Luke Starner, Liberty Charter (boys basketball): Sank 10-of-12 shots to finish with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 49-38 win vs. Rimrock.
- Addy Bayne, Liberty Charter (girls basketball): Racked up 13 points and 22 rebounds in a 40-30 win at Rimrock in a battle for first place in the 1A Division I WIC.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 11:57 PM.
