Published: 3/3/2017 1:59:55 AM

Lewiston jumped out in front of the Mavericks from Mountain View in the early going, but thanks to an unreal shooting performance from standout guard Jalen Galloway, who finished with 26 points, the Mavericks stayed alive in the ball game. In the end, Trystan Bradley was just too much for the Mavericks to handle, as the Bengals forward finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Lewiston will draw the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies in the state semifinals, whereas the Mavericks will play the Bonneville Bees in a loser-out matchup tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.

Hot shooting out of the gate from Jaden Howell and Dillon Sorenson kept the Bees alive for a majority of the ball game, but the dominating post presence of Kolby Lee and the sharpshooting of Kobe Terashima was just too much for the second-place team from District 5-6. Terashima really ended up being the difference down the stretch, as the senior finished with 19 points, but perhaps most importantly, the Grizzlies point guard knocked down 9 of his 11 free throw attempts, a large majority of them coming down the stretch. The Grizzlies, who improve to 24-1 with the win, will face the Lewiston Bengals in the state semifinals tomorrow night at the Idaho Center, and the Bees will play in the loser-out game against the Mountain View Mavericks.

The Patriots came out hot, hitting five threes in the opening stanza, with Madison coming out shooting flat, with seemingly nothing falling. At the end of the first half from the Idaho Center, the Patriots led the number one team in the state 27-13, with three of those Bobcat points coming on a Con Ball 70-footer at the horn. After three quarters, the outcome was still very much in question, as the Bobcats, led by senior standout guard Jaxon Edelmayer, trailed by just 8. Delvieon Jackson came up huge in the final eight minutes of regulation, knocking down free throw after free throw, but even his hot shooting wasn’t enough to keep Madison away. Edelmayer turned on the jets to a whole other level in the final frame, as he led the Bobcats to a 31-point outbreak in that quarter. Edelmayer hit two threes in the final ten seconds of the fourth, including the iconic stepback, a 25-footer to send it to OT. In the extra period the Patriots proved to be just too much, as foul trouble from earlier on in the ballgame came back to bite the Cats in the end, as Centennial would finish shooting 53 free throws overall, making 36 of them. The Patriots advance and will face the Post Falls Trojans for a spot in the 5A State Championship Game. Madison drops to the consolation side of the bracket where they will face the Boise Braves in a loser-out contest. 

Jake Pfennings made a lay-up, but I can guarantee you that lay-up will be the discussion of choice at every family gathering for the foreseeable future. With 7.6 seconds left the Trojans held the basketball, fresh off of a timeout as they tried to hold for the last shot. As Pfennings was running through the offense, he made a beautiful back cut and finished off an alley-oop lay-up as the horn sounded to send the Trojans to the state semifinal game against the Centennial Patriots. The second place team out of the SIC, the Braves from Boise, gave the Trojans all they had, and played their absolute hearts out, but were unable to stop the great outside shooting from Post Falls. Pfenning finished with 16 points, including two threes and the historic layup. He was followed up in the scoring column by Tanner McCliment-Call, who added 15, and Colby Gennett who added 13. Post Falls plays Centennial tomorrow at 8 p.m., and the Braves will face off against the number one ranked team in the state media poll in the Madison Bobcats.

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The defending state champion Preston Indians showed why many favor them to at least make a return to the Idaho Center floor with a dominating performance over the Moscow Bears at Borah High School. Derek Wadsworth led the charge for the Indians, finishing with 18 points, and he got lots of help from just about everyone in a white jersey as well, as senior forward Bodee Hymas poured in 12 and senior big man Brayden Parker finishing the ball game with 8. Moscow struggled to knock down their open looks early on, and with a solid defensive effort from Preston, they never really had any opportunity to get going in the game either. The Indians now sit one game away from their second consecutive trip to the Idaho Center, but standing in their way is the team they faced in the 4A finale last year, the Bishop Kelly Knights. That tilt will start at 6:15 tomorrow night. As for Moscow, they will face the Jerome Tigers in the consolation bracket in a loser-out game tomorrow afternoon.

The Bishop Kelly Knights showed from the opening tip that their appearance in the state championship game last year was no fluke, and perhaps even more importantly, the Knights showed that they were determined to come away with the blue trophy this year instead of the red one. From the beginning, the Knights played incredibly aggressive on defense and they ran very well in transition as well. Ten different Bishop Kelly players found the scorer’s sheet, and when coupled with Jerome’s 20 turnovers, there was little doubt that the Knights would advance back to the semifinals. Bishop Kelly will play in the game of the day tomorrow, a rematch of the 2016 4A state championship game against Preston, at 6:15 at Borah, with the winner advancing to the state championship. Jerome will fall to the consolation side of the bracket, where they will face Moscow.

For three quarters from Borah High School there were a lot of questions asked, but the most prominent had to have been whether or not senior guard Austin Staker was human or not. The guard finished 8-8 from the field, and of those eight makes, six of them were of the three-point variety. Staker finished off the contest with a game-high 23 points for the Tigers, and that propelled Idaho Falls to its first state win since 1999. Staker’s efforts were not alone however, as the senior was joined by potential player of the year candidate Sawyer Storms, who finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Free throws, as for most teams that find a win at the state tournament, were imperative down the stretch for Idaho Falls, which finished 12-17 from the charity stripe. The Tigers will face off against the Vallivue Falcons, with the winner advancing to the state championship game. Middleton drops to the consolation side of the bracket, where they will face the Burley Bobcats at 1:15 p.m.

Amoro Lado was on a mission from the opening tip in the concluding game of day one from the Real Dairy Shootout at Borah High School. The guard finished with 29 points, shooting 9-14 from the field to lead the third place team out of district three to the state semifinals, where they will have a date with the District 5-6 champion Idaho Falls Tigers. While Lado laced the bottom of the net, he wasn’t alone in his efforts, as Nick Fitts added 18 big points and Hunter Sedillo added 10 as well for the Falcons, who now just sit a game away from the Idaho Center and a chance to play for the state championship. As for Burley, they are relegated to the consolation side of the bracket, where they will face off against the Middleton Vikings in a loser-out game tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.

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Senior Hayden Wood led the charge, as per the usual, as the Sugar-Salem Diggers found the win column yet again. The Diggers now sit just one game away from yet another state championship appearance for a school overflowing with trophies. Wood finished with 12 points for Sugar-Salem, but his greatest value was on the defensive side of the basketball, as he affected shots and created opportunities in transition for his teammates, forcing Timberlake into 21 turnovers. Timberlake had great shooting early, but couldn’t continue the hot streak down the stretch in the second half, as only one Tiger finished in double digits, and that was Jordan Hardy, who finished with 10. Sugar will play in the state semifinal game tomorrow at 6:15 against the Gooding Senators. The Tigers will face the defending state champion Parma Panthers in a loser-out game.

The Senators made good on their first opportunity in the last 31 years at the state tournament, defeating the defending state champion Parma Panthers by 12 in the opening round of the Real Dairy Shootout. Bryson Comstock, the coaches’ son, led the way for the Gooding Senators, finishing with 28 points on 9-18 shooting from the field. Parma was led by Payton Pinz and Braydon Jensen who combined scored 45 of Parma’s 54. The Senators now sit just one game away from the state championship, but first they have to face the Diggers from Sugar-Salem. Parma will face the Timberlake Tigers in a loser-out game tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.

The Wildcats from Kellogg came up with one of the most impressive wins of the entire first day of the tournament, knocking off the Shelley Russets, 54-53. Chase Jerome led the way for the Wildcats, finishing with 23 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The Russets were led by Brady Hollist, who finished with 15 points, and he was helped by junior standout Jack Thompson, who had 8 points to go with 11 rebounds. Kellogg will play for a spot in the state semifinal tomorrow at 6:15 against the Snake River Panthers. Shelley falls to the consolation bracket for the second straight year, where they will face the Weiser Wolverines.

The Snake River Panthers returned to stereotypical Snake River state tournament form in their opening round matchup against the Weiser Wolverines. Coming into the game, junior post Clancy Thomas was without a doubt the key to victory for both sides. Obviously for Snake the idea was to get the big fella going early, and for Weiser, the important part was shutting down the entry to the big guy. Snake’s gameplan worked, and with no real post presence to try and contain the 6’6” Thomas, it was never really much of a contest. Thomas finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds, and teammate Porter Baldwin really helped take away some of the attention defensively from Thomas, finishing with 17 points of his own, including a 3-6 showing from downtown. Snake River will look to get back to the state championship game for the first time since 2013 when they won the title. Weiser will look to hold off elimination when they play the Shelley Russets in the loser-out game at Meridian tomorrow at 3 p.m.

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From beginning to end there was little doubt in this one. Our very own Gary Jones said it best when he said, “Melba ran into a buzz saw in the form of the St. Maries Lumberjacks,” as the ‘Jacks forced a normally very efficient Melba offense into committing 21 turnovers. While St. Maries actually had more turnovers (25), the Lumberjacks were able to convert early and often from the field, with their transition offense ending up being the most imperative cog in their very well running engine. St. Maries will play the Ririe Bulldogs for a spot in the 2A state championship game tomorrow at 6:15 at Capital High School, and the Melba Mustangs will play in the loser-out game against the Nampa Christian Trojans.

The man, the myth, the sophomore Michael Ure was the man of the hour for the Ririe Bulldogs, who now sit just one game away from the state championship game. Ure led the way for the Bulldogs, who as a team shot nearly 60 percent from the field, finishing with 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8-12 shooting for the Bulldogs in just 20 minutes of action. Ure wasn’t alone however, as senior Dylan Anglesey showed up in a big way, finishing with 13. Matthew Johnson also added 10 for a Ririe team that never trailed. Ririe will face the St. Maries Lumberjacks tomorrow at 6:15 in a date for a spot in the 2A Real Dairy championship game. Nampa Christian will look to avoid elimination tomorrow against the Melba Mustangs.

The Bear Lake Bears showed exactly why they have been in the top five in the media poll for the entirety of the season, asserting their dominance and taking it to the Declo Hornets. Kayden Romrell led a very balanced scoring attack for Bear Lake, finishing with 12 points for the Bears. Eight other Bears also hit the scorers’ sheet in a game that was never really close. Bear Lake came out aggressively on defense, and the Hornets couldn’t handle the pressure. The Bears forced Declo into committing 19 turnovers and they never looked back. A 17-5 second quarter really propelled Bear Lake one game closer to playing for a state championship for the first time as a 2A program. They will face off against the New Plymouth Pilgrims for a spot in the state championship game. As for Declo, they will face their 2014 championship game opponent to avoid elimination, the Firth Cougars. 

Riley Harris had 25 points after going 5-10 from downtown and also 5-10 from within the three-point line for a New Plymouth team that advances to the state semifinal for the first time since their game for the ages matchup with this same Firth program in 2013. The Pilgrims outplayed the Cougars down the stretch, especially in the fourth and final quarter of play, as New Plymouth outscored the three-time defending state champion Cougars 14-6. Free throws, as you would expect, were imperative down the stretch in a game that, with the exception of Harris, didn’t feature anyone over double digits in the scoring column. The Pilgrims will face the Bear Lake Bears in a date that will give the winner an all-access pass to the Idaho Center for a dance at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, while the Cougars will face the Declo Hornets in a loser-out matchup tomorrow at 3 p.m.

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Zane Mussmann led the charge for a Valley team that was hungry to prove its doubters wrong. The Vikings came out in the first quarter, aggressive and eager, and after jumping out to a six-point lead at the end of the first period, they never looked back. Mussmann finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and with help from Jason Hardy, Ben Christensen, Jamin Fenton and Tim Carlquist, the Vikings find themselves one step closer to a chance to play on that brand new Idaho Center floor on Saturday morning. Valley will play Prairie for a chance to play on the aforementioned Idaho Center floor, whereas the Riverstone Otters will play for a chance to win the consolation championship, when they play the Wilder Wildcats at 1:15 p.m.

In one of the most lopsided games of the first day, the Wilder Wildcats were simply no match for the perennial powerhouse Prairie Pirates. Led by Patrick Chemlik and Hunter Chaffee, who both finished with 18 points for the Pirates, the Prairie boys find themselves in a very familiar spot, in the state semifinals yet again with another opportunity to play for another state championship. As for Wilder, the Cinderella run is still alive, but they will have to play the Riverstone Otters in order to keep that dream alive. 

The Ambrose Archers’ dreams of repeating as state champions were dashed by the Grace Grizzlies in the 6:15 matchup from Vallivue High School. Led by hot shooting from Daxx Jorgensen and Payton Lloyd, the Grizzlies were able to hold off the late game charge by the defending state champions. Ambrose was led by the trio of Jack Roberts, Jaxon Hughes and Ethan Christianson, who scored 15, 14 and 13 points, respectively. Grace will move on to the state semifinal game, where they will face the runners-up from last year, the Lapwai Wildcats. Ambrose will look to avoid elimination when they face the Horseshoe Bend Mustangs tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.

In the most impressive scoring display put up by a team at the state tournament thus far, the Lapwai Wildcats showed why they are often times considered by many to be a favorite to win a state championship, year in and year out. The press was at it again for the 'Cats, which forced the Horseshoe Bend Mustangs to commit 22 turnovers, leading to bucket after bucket after bucket for the Lapwai offense, which runs arguably the best transition offense in the entire state of Idaho. The attack was led by College of Idaho commit Ivory Miles-Williams, who finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals, all in just 22 minutes of work. Lapwai will play in the state semifinals tomorrow, where they will face the Grace Grizzlies. Horseshoe Bend draws the defending state champion Ambrose Archers in a loser-out game.

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The Deary Mustangs made their first appearance in the state tournament since 1998, giving Rockland one of the most entertaining and electrifying games of the opening session of the 2017 Real Dairy Shootout. In a game that was back and forth for a majority of the 32 minutes, the Bulldogs came away with several key buckets in the final minute of action from Caldwell High School’s gymnasium, as the transition game proved to be too much for the Mustangs. Evan Reed ended up being the key for Rockland, as he finished 7-8 from the floor with 16 points. The Bulldogs as a team went 19-42 from the field, and combined with a solid defensive performance throughout, find themselves just one win away from a berth in the state championship. Rockland will play Dietrich in the semifinal and Deary will face the Kendrick Tigers in the consolation bracket.

For 16 minutes from Caldwell, there was an uncanny energy in the building, as the Tigers from Kendrick matched the defending state champions nearly shot for shot. Thanks to an excellent shooting display, the Tigers trailed Dietrich by just 9 at the break. Then, enter Jake Smith. In the most impressive three-point shooting display in 1AD2 tournament history, the senior guard knocked down seven triples, including three in the final stanza to propel the Blue Devils to the state semifinal game. Smith led all scorers with 23, and it would end up being all the Devils needed to get one step closer to defending their state title. Dietrich will continue the aforementioned title defense against Rockland tomorrow at 1:15 p.m., whereas the Kendrick Tigers will draw the Deary Mustangs in a loser-out matchup on the consolation side of the bracket.

The Carey Panthers have qualified for the state tournament for as long as 1AD2 basketball has been existent in the state of Idaho, and this time, they are one step closer to once again playing for a state championship. The Panthers had an instant classic in their matchup with the Council Lumberjacks, as they battled back and forth for the first 24 minutes of action. Led by Houston Hennefer, who knocked down four three-point shots of the six he attempted, the Panthers really came alive in the fourth and final quarter of play. Carey was good down the stretch, especially at the game of free throws, and now they will play the Genesis Prep Jaguars for a spot in the state championship game. Council, which played for a title last year, will face the Butte County Pirates in a loser-out affair at 6:15 p.m. tomorrow from Caldwell High School.

The Jaguars made the most of their opportunity at the state tournament, knocking off the Butte County Pirates. With all but one player for the Jags finding the scoring column, it was hard to find fault with the nearly flawless and nearly record-setting performance that the Genesis Prep Jaguars put together. Just six points shy of tying the tournament record for most points scored in a game (which is held by Dietrich with 87), the Jaguars offensive execution was virtuous and the defensive performance was almost better. Led by Junior Williams, who hit five threes en route to his 19 points,  had assistance from just about everybody else for the Jaguars, who combined for 33 made baskets as a team. The Jaguars will play Carey tomorrow for a spot in the state title tilt, whereas the Butte County Pirates will draw the Council Lumberjacks in a loser-out matchup.