Owyhee’s star took the bench early. The Storm still crushed a top challenger by 32 points
Saturday night featured all the ingredients for an upset.
No. 1-ranked Owyhee faced a ranked team on the road. Its USC-bound guard was playing with a broken nose. And he took the bench with foul trouble just 2 minutes into the game.
None of it mattered. The Storm obliterated No. 5-ranked Timberline 60-28, triggering the running-clock mercy rule in the fourth quarter.
Owyhee (14-3, 8-0 5A SIC) has yet to find a challenger from Idaho. The two-time defending district champs are 11-0 against in-state opponents, winning those games by an average of 30.2 points. But Owyhee doesn’t plan on overlooking anyone anytime soon, junior guard Boden Howell said.
“We don’t think of ourselves as playing lesser teams,” Howell said. “We don’t think of ourselves as the No. 1 team in the state. We just go into every game like it’s a game we can lose.
“We go in with that mindset and a mentality to kill.”
Owyhee showcased that mentality early as Liam Campbell picked up his second foul just 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the game. He sat out the rest of the first half and finished with four points in 10 minutes. But the Storm didn’t miss a beat.
Howell grabbed control early, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the first quarter. Jackson Rasmussen (14 points) took over the second quarter. And point guard Logan Haustveit added 13 points as the Storm showcased the lethal depth that’s made them so unstoppable.
“Last year, Liam goes down, it could have been a closer game,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said. “But we’re very balanced. These young guys have matured, and it’s a testament to our team. Because we’re not just Liam Campbell. We’re Owyhee basketball.”
Owyhee turned the game into a blowout in the second quarter as the Storm turned up the defensive pressure on Timberline, which entered the game with the state’s top defense (42.7 ppg).
Owyhee made its own claim to that title, forcing nine turnovers in the second quarter, including six in a 90-second span. Timberline finished the game with more turnovers (18) than field goals (11) or rebounds (17).
The Storm had only two turnovers.
“You’ve got to play a 32-minute game to give them a game, if that makes sense,” Timberline coach Travis Noble said. “They just have weapons all over the floor.
“You can’t have any lapses on defense. Offensively, you’ve got to handle the pressure. It’s 32 minutes of chaos.”
No Timberline player reached double figures. Bryce Elder and Jacob Heyne led the Wolves (15-3, 6-3) with five points apiece.
Owyhee, which has a seven-game winning streak, next hosts Boise on Wednesday. The Storm have spent the past two seasons with a Texas-sized target on their back. But after getting upset in the first round of last year’s state tournament, this team has its eyes set on March.
“Even last year, we were getting hunted by everyone,” Harrington said. “Now, we know what’s coming and we’ve got to match that.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2024 at 9:36 PM.
