You again? Pocatello, Hillcrest roll into another 4A championship battle with routs
Round 3 is set.
Pocatello and Hillcrest rolled to 36- and 30-point wins, respectively, in the 4A boys basketball state semifinals Friday, sending the teams to the finals for the third straight year.
Hillcrest won the previous two title matchups. Tipoff for the third meeting is at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Here’s how both teams punched their return tickets to the championship round.
[Related: State basketball tournament scores, brackets]
POCATELLO 82, RIDGEVUE 46
Top-seeded Pocatello (21-5) brought Ridgevue’s Cinderella run to an end with a thud in the first game of the day.
The Thunder started the game on fire and never cooled off, coming within one point of the 4A tournament’s single-game scoring record.
Pocatello started the contest with a 21-2 run, built a 20-point lead in the first quarter, extended it to 30 points in the third quarter and led by as many as 38 points in the fourth.
“It’s a damn good team,” Ridgevue coach Daniel Vint said. “When you’re playing a team like that, you gotta hope that they are not hot from the 3-point line. That’s your chance to pull off an upset or do something.
“They were hot from 3. They’re locked in and rolling.”
Boise State signee Julian Bowie led the onslaught, pouring in 23 points and shooting 7-for-11 from the field before taking the bench in the third quarter. But Bowie received plenty of help, as Drew Contreras scored 12 points, Kesler Caughan added nine, and Isaiah Leonard and Gage Ontiveros each chipped in eight.
Pocatello found a hot hand no matter where it turned. The Thunder shot 29-for-66 (44%) from the floor and dominated on the glass. Pocatello outrebounded Ridgevue 41-25, including 16-2 on the offensive end.
“We were kind of just on a mission tonight, and I’m proud of the kids and how they started,” Pocatello coach Joe Green said.
The win gave Pocatello a chance to take care of unfinished business with Hillcrest.
“The goal this whole year has been a state championship,” Bowie said. “So we picked up a good win. We played well. But we got better things to do.”
Kaimana Nielson led Ridgevue (16-8) with 12 points. Keegan Randall and Tucker Tiddens each added eight points for the Warhawks, who made their first trip to state and can bring home their first trophy with a win over Bishop Kelly in the third-place game at noon Saturday at Rocky Mountain.
“We told them in the locker room to let (the loss) sink in for four, five, six hours,” Vint said. “But at some point tonight, they’ve got to start getting mentally right because we can still finish the season on a great note, 2-1 at state, and get that third-place trophy.
“I think they’ll bounce back. I think they understand that it’s still going to be a great accomplishment to potentially do that.”
HILLCREST 76, BISHOP KELLY 46
As kids, Isaac Davis and Ike Sutton used to goof around practicing lobs and dunks on a trampoline at Sutton’s house.
The two put on a similar show Friday afternoon on a much bigger stage, guiding Hillcrest to a third straight 4A state championship game with a lopsided victory over Bishop Kelly.
“It is special. It is something that I will love and think about for the rest of my life,” Hillcrest coach Dave Austin said. “The connection that these two have, they’re dogs. They fight hard and they get after it, and they play as hard as they can, and they love each other.
“There’s times when they’re at each other’s throat because they’re so competitive, but when it comes down to the end, we know that these two are going to step up and do everything we have to, and we don’t even have to coach them. They just have it. They love it.”
Davis, a 6-foot-7 BYU signee, finished 14-for-16 from the floor for a game-leading 29 points, and added eight rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal. His dunk at the start of the second quarter — off an assist from Sutton — sent the Idaho Center crowd into a frenzy.
There was little BK (19-5) could do to stop them.
“You have a talented point guard who’s a great passer and a great shooter,” Bishop Kelly coach Ryan Kerns said. “Then you put him next to an imposing, physical big who is also a great passer and great finisher. It’s just tough to be good at defense all night in that situation.”
The Knights of Boise shot just 18% in the first quarter and fell behind 16-6. It was a game of catchup the rest of the way, and Bishop Kelly’s shots simply weren’t falling. BK finished 17-for-63 (27%) overall and 3-for-19 (15.8%) from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest (19-6) connected on 51.6% of its shots and had 10 different players score. Sutton, who is committed to Hawaii Pacific, added 12 points, five assists and three rebounds, and junior Titan Larsen chipped in 11 points, three boards and two assists.
“Like Coach (Austin) said, pressure is a privilege,” Davis said. “This has been our goal, and I honestly don’t know what to say. I just feel like we earned it. We work hard every day at practice. Me and Ike are always at each other, but that’s what makes us good. And personally, I feel like we’re the best duo in the state.”
Senior Mason Suboh-Meuret was the only player to score in double figures for Bishop Kelly, totaling 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Will Green contributed nine points and seven boards.
BK will face 4A SIC rival Ridgevue in the third-place game Saturday. The Knights swept the regular-season series, but the Warhawks edged them 65-62 in last week’s district championship game.
“They got the last one in the district championship, and we’ve got one more chance to kind of right the wrong if we have the opportunity,” Kerns said. “And they’re a good team, too. And that’s always just a tough game to be in.
“But once it starts, I think guys remember their love of basketball and their competitive spirit. Then you’re just happy to play together one more game.”
