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NAMPA — After two lackluster shooting performances in the first two rounds of the 6A boys state basketball tournament, Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said his team was due for a good shooting night.
It’s hard to imagine even he foresaw it being as good as it was.
Owyhee dominated Lake City from start to finish, racing out to a 33-point halftime lead and cruising to a 77-46 win. The 31-point margin of victory was the largest in a title game in the modern era and the largest in Idaho’s highest classification since 1919 when Moscow beat Wallace, 52-15.
The Storm (23-4), which shot 64.3 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half, won its second straight title and third overall after only the school’s fourth year in existence.
Owyhee senior Logan Haustveit credited the team’s fast start to its mindset before the game.
“We realized that this was our last time together and that we should play for each other,” said Haustveit, who had 11 points and and four assists. “We knew we had thirty-two minutes to come out and compete with each other. And I think we all just had fun and weren’t worried. I think that took all the stress off and was how we got going so quickly.”
“Going into the game, I wanted Lake City because I thought it was the second best team but also that they would run up and down with us,” Harrington said.
Lake City (21-5), which last won the state title in 2023, looked early like it was going to give Harrington and Owyhee the game it expected.
The Timberwolves opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Cason Miller and settled into a steady rhythm of trading baskets before Owyhee found another gear midway through the quarter.
After Joshua Watson completed a traditional three-point play to put the Wolves ahead 12-11 with 4:32 left in the first quarter, Owyhee went on a 20-0 run that spanned seven minutes, stretching into the second quarter.
Lake City didn’t find the bottom of the net again until 5:20 remained in the second quarter.
Owyhee responded with four straight 3-pointers before adding two more shots from the floor in the final minute to build a commanding 47-14 halftime lead.
“I feel like our team did a good job in the first half,” said Boden Howell, who led all scorers with 19 points and was 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. “Obviously we were excited that we were up and we were hyping it up, but I feel like we did a good job of staying locked in.”
Howell and his teammates were so locked in that they were subbed out for the second string early in the fourth quarter.
Owyhee started the third quarter with a 12-5 run, overwhelming Lake City yet again and squelching any idea of a comeback.
“Momentum’s a tricky thing,” Lake City coach James Anderson said. “We just ran into the eye of the storm, almost literally here. They shot the ball extremely well. They got a lot of momentum and it kind of turned on us.”
Owyhee finished the game shooting 56.4 percent from the floor and made 13 3-pointers.
Aside from Howell and Haustveit, Owyhee’s other three starters also finished in double figures in scoring, Jaycee Allen, Jackson Rogers, and Cam Downie all adding 10 points each.
Watson scored 10 points and hauled down four boards to lead Lake City.
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