By: David Bashore for IdahoSportscom

Throughout the state boys basketball tournament, Rockland had hung its hat on a defense that opponents found impossible to unlock.

On Saturday, Carey found the key.

Nate Adamson and the Panthers picked apart Rockland’s defense by going right into its teeth, attacking the Bulldogs’ size to ruthless effect. Carey won the 1A-II state championship 55-36, picking up the second title in program history.

“I was here as a freshman and I didn’t play too much, so to win this as a senior is just awesome,” said Adamson, who had 20 points, 12 rebounds and four assists to lead Carey.

Matt Whitworth added 19 pts and 13 rebounds for the Panthers, and Joe Parke scored 10 points.

It was a tale of two histories: Carey was making its fourth title appearance in six seasons, while the Bulldogs had never been this far.

Rockland was vying for its first championship in any sport, but things started to go awry early for the Bulldogs. Carey scored the first six points of the game, four of them in transition, to get Rockland back on itsheels.

“That was the most important thing,” Whitworth said. “If we could get them in panic mode early that was going to help us a lot.”

The Bulldogs settled down, but soon after starting guard BJay Turley went down with a shoulder injury and that allowed Adamson to go to work on the perimeter.

The Carey senior drove at will, setting up mid-range jumpers and dishing slick passes to teammates on the interior. Despite Rockland’s size advantage, the Panthers relentlessly attacked the rim and reaped the rewards --particularly when the Bulldogs had to stretch their defense out to midcourt,which opened up even more space with which Adamson could work.

“They bit on Nate really hard, and that opened up a lot of things for us,” said Whitworth. “Having a guy like that on our team makes ushard for other teams to defend.”

Carey used active defense to create transition opportunities, forcing Rockland out of its game and into a more mid-range game– far from the Bulldogs’ strengths.

Spencer Permann led Rockland with nine points and eight rebounds, while Rex Permann added eight points and eight rebounds.

Idaho Sports Playerof the Game: Nate Adamson, Carey.