Mountain View, Owyhee clinch state berths. They’ll get a rematch for the district title
Mountain View and Owyhee proved themselves as the cream of the crop in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference this season. And Tuesday was no different.
Mountain View dispatched Timberline 65-43 and Owyhee routed Meridian 71-48 in the 5A District Three Tournament semifinals, punching a state tournament ticket for both the Mavericks (19-4) and the Storm (18-5).
Both shot 50% or better from the field to set up a rematch for the district championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Idaho Central Arena in Downtown Boise. Mountain View handed Owyhee its only conference loss this season on Jan. 6, when Dyson Judd hit a game-winning shot with 3 seconds left.
MOUNTAIN VIEW RECOVERS FROM SLOW START
Tuesday didn’t start the way the Mavericks wanted with four turnovers in the opening four minutes. But they settled their nerves, took the lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back to clinch their third straight trip to state.
“We were just a little antsy,” Judd said. “It took us a minute to get going. But once we got going, we couldn’t be stopped. We were on fire.”
The top-seeded Mavericks grew hotter as the night wore on, finishing 27-for-46 (59%) from the floor.
Judd led the way, scoring a game-high 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting. He punished the Wolves (16-8) inside the paint over and over, establishing position in the post before draining an array of unstoppable fadeaways.
His only misses of the night came on 3-pointers. He was 10-for-10 inside the 3-point line.
“He’s just taught himself to shoot that shot,” Mountain View coach Jon Nettleton said of the fadeaway. “And it’s a hard shot to defend.”
Freshman Logan Haustveit added 19 points and four steals while hitting 8-of-13 shots, and senior Dawson Wahl added 16 points and six rebounds.
Mountain View saw its 14-game winning streak snapped earlier this month with a surprise loss at Eagle. But the Mavericks officially buried that memory by clinching a state spot and a shot at the district championship.
“We know we played down to Eagle’s level in that game,” Judd said. “We didn’t play how we should have. That one really hurt, especially when you’ve won 14 in a row.
“But we wanted to come back. We know where we’re supposed to be. We know we shouldn’t have lost that game. We played (tonight) like we know how we can play.”
Jachin Mertes scored 13 points and Blake Biesau added 12 for Timberline, which fell into the district tournament’s consolation bracket. The Wolves next face Centennial (12-12) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mountain View. The winner advances to state while the loser drops into a state play-in game.
OWYHEE WILL DEFEND TITLES
Reigning district and state champ Owyhee ensured it will get a chance to defend both titles with a runaway victory Tuesday.
The Storm closed the first half on a 10-0 run, added an 11-0 run to finish the third quarter and shot 51% from the floor to send the second-year program to state for the second year in a row.
“We just handled business,” Owyhee junior guard Liam Campbell said. “It was pretty close to start. But we stayed together, and we continued to talk. That was a good win for us.”
Meridian (13-10) gave the Storm all they could handle in the first half. But a small hustle play provided the spark that spread into a wildfire.
Senior guard Titus Bailey outhustled a defender to a missed free throw from Jackson Rasmussen, quickly putting it back up for two points. It didn’t look like much at the time, but it tied the score at 27-27 and fueled the Storm’s 10-0 run to close the half.
Owyhee never trailed again.
“We were a little down on ourselves,” Campbell said. “We didn’t think the game should be that close, honestly. We called a timeout, we talked over it and were like, ‘Hey, we need to be tougher than them.’
“... That was a big play and led on to that push. Plays like that win games.”
Campbell carried the Storm offensively again, pouring in a game-high 26 points while adding seven rebounds in just 23 minutes. He sank 9-of-17 shots even while often bringing the ball up the floor and directing the Storm’s offensive sets.
“We wanted to get him the ball right away so they couldn’t deny him and face-guard him and all that stuff,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said. “He’s a special player because he could shoot every time down the court if he wanted to. But he’s taking care of the ball and getting us into our offense.
“It’s hard to take the ball from him, which is huge.”
Rasmussen added 16 points and Barrett Fernandez chipped in eight points for the Storm.
Josh Christensen scored 23 points as the only Meridian player in double figures. The Warriors face Eagle (15-9) in a winner-to-state game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mountain View. The loser could still make it to state via a play-in game.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 11:11 PM.
