Columbia, Bishop Kelly lock in 5A semifinal spots. Four more local teams advance
Championship hopes remain alive for six Boise-area boys basketball teams after the opening round of the 2026 Idaho state tournament at six locations throughout the Treasure Valley.
Columbia and Bishop Kelly each won at the 5A level, while Cole Valley Christian (4A), New Plymouth (3A), North Star Charter (2A) and Garden Valley (1A) advanced to Friday’s semifinal action as well.
Here’s a rundown of how Boise-area teams fared Thursday.
5A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
COLUMBIA 69, VALLIVUE 68 (OT): With 8.6 seconds left, Columbia coach Blaine Wright drew up an inbound play on the fly.
Although the Wildcats’ first option didn’t come to fruition, Max Keller was ready when his number was called.
The junior wing took two dribbles and launched a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Wildcats to an overtime win over the Falcons in the first round Thursday at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian.
It marked the first, first-round win in program history for Columbia (18-7), setting up a semifinal showdown with No. 1 seed Lewiston (21-3) at noon Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“I’m a very faithful kid, and I’ve been praying a lot that whole overtime,” Keller said. “I was praying, and they drew up that play. And I knew if the slip isn’t there, the ball is going to me. I was praying. I was singing hymns in my head.
“I knew this is the moment I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I know God can reward me. And so that’s truly what I did. I caught the ball, and I knew I had the chance to shoot it, and then God delivered, and I hit the shot.”
Mired in foul trouble, Keller didn’t score a single point in the first half against 5A Southern Idaho Conference foe Vallivue, a team the Wildcats had split with during the regular season.
But Keller finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, adding four assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
“I don’t know that anyone works harder than he does,” Wright said. “He knows just to stick with it and stay with it, and he’s completely bought into our team.
“While he usually leads us in scoring or is right up there, he’s also had multiple games where he’s been willing to be the passer, and getting in foul trouble early can sometimes upset your rhythm. But the fact that he was not afraid at all to pull the trigger on a shot like that just says so much about a kid like that.”
While Keller delivered the gut-punch in overtime, it was junior wing Easton Lott who had to shoulder the pressure in the closing seconds of regulation. Lott made a pair of free throws with 27.4 seconds left, tying the score at 60 and eventually forcing overtime.
Lott finished with a team-leading 17 points to go with six rebounds and one assist.
“I just needed to do exactly what my team needed me to do,” Lott said. “Sometimes I score a lot, sometimes I don’t. It’s just whatever my team needs.
“And I knew at that exact moment that my brothers trusted me, and I could trust my brothers, and I knew that I had full confidence, and my brothers had confidence in me to make those shots and that made the stress go way easier.”
The Wildcats hung on for the win despite a massive effort from Vallivue senior guard Dominik Betancourt, who totaled 37 points on 15-for-24 shooting, including a 6-for-11 performance from 3-point range. Betancourt made two of his triples in the second half of the fourth quarter and one in overtime that gave the Falcons a 65-62 lead with 1:40 to play.
Vallivue (19-8) will play Burley (14-12) in an elimination game at 5 p.m. Friday at Rocky Mountain.
BISHOP KELLY 49, TWIN FALLS 46: For more than 31 minutes of regulation, there wasn’t a lot of drama to be had on the hardwood at Rocky Mountain High School.
But when the pressure hit, the Knights were ready.
Bishop Kelly (19-6) led from start to finish against Twin Falls in the first round Thursday, moving into the semifinals against Preston (21-3) at 2 p.m. Friday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
The Knights opened the game on a 6-0 run and led by as many as 12 points, 34-22, with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter.
“I thought that was our best defensive game of the year,” Bishop Kelly coach Andrew Ammann said. “We were super focused on trying to take away their strengths individually and as a team trying to stop their sets.
“I’m super proud of the way we competed on defense.”
Bishop Kelly held a 47-39 lead with 2:04 left in the game, but a 3-pointer from Twin Falls senior guard Ty Hess with 35.5 seconds left — complemented by an and-1 opportunity — opened the door for a putback by junior forward Trey Billings that pulled the Bruins within 47-44 with about 28 seconds left.
The Bruins then turned to the foul game, sending Bishop Kelly senior guard Conor Goss to the free-throw line twice in the final 22.2 seconds. Goss made 2-of-4 free throws, the last of which came with 10.5 seconds left for a 49-46 lead.
Twin Falls eventually got the ball back in the closing seconds, but Hess’ potential game-tying heave from half-court came up short.
“Our team goes through these kinds of drills at practice all the time,” Goss said. “We knew how much time was left and knew how much we were up. We just needed to play our game and get it done. That’s a good team, so I wasn’t really surprised they made a run.
“But I think our guys have the skill to take it all the way … so I was proud of us, how we held our own.”
Goss paced the Knights with 15 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Nick Hebert contributed eight points and six boards off the bench, and senior center Andrew Johnson totaled seven points and five rebounds.
4A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN 60, HOMEDALE 37: The Chargers racked up their 16th straight win with a victory over their conference rival on Friday at Eagle High School.
Second-ranked Cole Valley (20-4) will take on No. 3 Snake River (17-8) — a 58-56 winner over Marsh Valley — in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday.
Eight players scored for the Chargers, led by sophomore guard Jamin Hughes with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Soren Fraas also reached double figures, notching 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Homedale (14-9), which was led by Lukas Hall with seven points and four rebounds, will try to extend its season in an elimination game against Marsh Valley on Friday.
3A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
NEW PLYMOUTH 58, OROFINO 51: The Pilgrims leaned on a balanced effort and a 50% shooting night to top the Maniacs on Thursday at Meridian High School.
It marked the first time New Plymouth (19-7) won a first-round game since 2017 and moved the Pilgrims into the semifinals against No. 2 Wendell (23-2), with their first state finals appearance since 2013 on the line.
Junior guard Ethan Meyer was the top scorer for New Plymouth with 16 points, while senior center Cohen Evans chipped in 14 points and nine boards, and seniors Josiah Gustin and Ashton Robinson added 12 points each.
ST. MARIES 64, PARMA 54: Four players scored in double figures for the top-seeded Lumberjacks in a first-round win over the Panthers on Thursday at Meridian High School.
Senior guard JJ Yearout led all scorers with 20 points, while Isaiah Gustaffe (12 points), Jack Barta (11 points) and Landon Riberich also reached double digits for St. Maries (19-3), which plays No. 4 Ririe (16-9) in the semifinals on Friday.
Seniors Trevor Mann (19 points), Nathan Compas (17 points) and Colton Davison led Parma (14-11), who draws Firth in an elimination game Friday.
2A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
NORTH STAR CHARTER 49, VALLEY 44: In their first state appearance since 2014, the Huskies collected their 16th straight win by downing the Vikings in the first round Thursday at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.
North Star (18-4) will make its state semifinal debut against top-ranked Kendrick (21-3) at 5 p.m. Friday.
Junior Logan Ellis recorded a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, playing all 32 minutes for the Huskies. Junior Tim Baros (11 points) and sophomore Paul Cougher (10 points) also reached double digits for North Star.
LAKESIDE 60, RIMROCK 49: The Knights cashed in on 24 Rimrock turnovers to score a first-round victory Thursday at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.
Freshman Rigo Farfan was the top scorer for the Raiders (19-5) with 16 points, to go with six rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. Rimrock plays an elimination game Murtaugh on Friday.
1A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
GARDEN VALLEY 43, GREENLEAF 36: The Wolverines pushed their winning streak to 10 games with a victory over conference foe Greenleaf in the first round Thursday at Caldwell High School.
Garden Valley (21-2) will take aim at a state championship spot when it plays No. 2 Watersprings (23-3) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday.
Senior post Will Coburn (17 points, 12 rebounds) and senior guard Madix Miller (13 points, 16 rebounds) each posted double-doubles for the Wolverines.
Greenleaf (17-10), which qualified for state for the first time since 2007, plays Coeur du Christ in an elimination game Friday.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 9:41 PM.
