Owyhee lost one game in the 5A SIC. The Storm got revenge in the district championship
Losses tend to get magnified for the Owyhee High boys basketball team.
The reigning state champs have set such a high standard in the Treasure Valley that even a single defeat raises question marks. But the Storm answered any and all questions Thursday.
Owyhee defeated Mountain View 58-51 in the 5A District Three Tournament championship at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise, holding off several late charges to repeat as district champs and avenge its only loss this season to a conference opponent.
“All of us were hungry,” Owyhee sophomore guard Jackson Rasmussen said. “I know, personally, I was hungry to win and really show everyone that we’re the better team, and come out and win.”
The Storm (19-5) faced a similar situation last year, losing a single conference game to Eagle. But just like last year, Owyhee ignored all the whispers of “What’s wrong with the Storm?” and got even in the district championship game.
“There’s a lot of noise when you lose a game in the Valley for us, because there’s a lot of eyes on our program,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said. “I think we won every game in our league outside of (Mountain View) by 15-plus (points).
“But if it’s within 15, people are like, ‘What happened? Why didn’t you guys win by 30?’
“That noise is constant with our fans, my mom, my fiancee. I’m like, ‘This is basketball. It’s not football where we’re going to play once a week.’ It’s hard to consistently play great all the time.”
Owyhee hasn’t made it look too hard, though. The Storm enter next week’s state tournament as the No. 2 seed. They’ve won 13 of their 14 games since losing at Mountain View on a last-second shot Jan. 5.
The lone loss came in Florida to Montverde Academy, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation — with five of the top 100 players in the class of 2023 on its roster, according to ESPN.
Junior guard Liam Campbell carried Owyhee again Thursday, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting. He scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half after fighting through some early shooting struggles. But Owyhee’s deep roster carried it through the lulls and spotted the Storm an early lead.
Five players finished with five or more points, including Rasmussen (10 points, seven rebounds), Jayce Allen (eight points) and Reece Sasser-Gunson (seven points).
“We have key players, and we have depth,” Campbell said. “That’s what I love about our team is that everybody can step up to the plate, especially in these games where I’m not scoring a whole ton or I’m getting doubled.”
Owyhee took the lead for good on a Sasser-Gunson bucket in the post early in the second quarter, and the Storm never trailed again.
Owyhee could never put Mountain View away, though, and the Mavericks tied the score in the third and fourth quarters. But the Storm had an answer for every Mountain View run.
“There were moments where I don’t think we executed offensively,” Harrington said. “But our toughness, our defense, our ability to get loose balls was the difference down the stretch.
“... It wasn’t pretty, but you’ve got to find a way at this time of the year.”
Both teams advance to next week’s 5A state tournament. No. 2 Owyhee will host the yet-to-be-determined No. 7 seed in the opener at noon March 2 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
No. 3 Mountain View (19-5) will follow at 2 p.m. against the yet-to-be-determined No. 6 seed, setting up a potential rematch with Owyhee in the semifinals.
Freshman Logan Haustveit led the Mavericks with 16 points. Camden Hyde added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Dyson Judd had 11 points and eight rebounds.
This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 11:37 PM.
