Balanced Kellogg Rallies To Win A-2 Opener A-2 Boys

How do you split a game ball seven ways?

Kellogg High boys basketball coach Tony Kerfoot must find a way - unless he decides to hand out seven balls.

He couldn’t pinpoint just one player, and neither could senior point guard and defensive specialist Mike Mercado, who was worthy of special praise as he led the Wildcats’ comefrom-behind win, 54-50, over Jerome in a State A-2 tournament opener.

In the first game of the tourney at Meridian High School, Moscow held off Preston 53-48.

In the semifinals tonight, Kellogg (16-8) takes on Snake River (21-2) at 7 PST and Moscow (18-3) meets Bishop Kelly (22-1) at 5:30.

Kellogg 54, Jerome 50

Mercado made both ends of an one-and-one with 4 seconds left to conclude Kellogg’s storybook rally.

But it was his defense in the second half in Kellogg’s box-and-one on Jerome shooter Brian Williams that was just as important.

Williams nearly shot Kellogg out of the game in the first half, making his first eight shots for 20 points. It was his final 3-pointer in the second quarter that gave the Tigers their biggest lead at 29-14 with 2:36 left before halftime.

It may not have seemed important at the time, but Kellogg cut the lead to 31-19 by intermission.

Mercado would allow Williams two shots and no points in the second half.

“You can’t let one kid beat you,” Kerfoot said of the special defense.

Kellogg began its comeback after a Andy Walgamott free throw put Jerome ahead 33-21 with 4:17 left in the third quarter.

Back-to-back baskets by Kellogg’s Seth Rice, and a layup by Nathan Corkill, trimmed Jerome’s lead to 33-27.

A driving shot in the lane by Corkill pulled Kellogg within 33-29 with 1:17 left before the fourth quarter.

Kellogg cooled off momentarily. In fact, Jerome (14-9) would widen the lead to 39-30 before Mercado hit a 3-pointer that seemed to renew the Wildcats’ energy.

Brian Carlson completed a three-point play and a baseline jumper and a three-point play by Corkill chopped the lead to 42-41 with 4 minutes left.

Then 6-foot-7 junior Heath Marek stepped up. Marek, who was 0 of 15 from 3-point range during the regular season, put up a 3-pointer that gave Kellogg its first lead of the game at 44-43 at the 3:19 mark.

Marek, 5 of 5 from behind the arc in the postseason, struck again to tie the score at 47-all with 1:52 remaining.

Kellogg regained the lead for good when Carlson, plagued by injuries all season, hit a 3 from the wing to put the Wildcats on top 50-48 with :48 left.

Corkill made two foul shots with 14 seconds left before Mercado’s game-clinching foul shots.

Mercado was uncomfortable being interviewed afterward, instead pointing his finger at Marek, Carlson and Corkill as the key players in the game.

“I don’t like talking about myself,” Mercado said, smiling nervously. “We knew we played bad in the first half and we figured they played as good as they could in the first half so we knew we could come back.”

Corkill finished with a team-high 14 points and six assists. Rice added 11 points. Carlson and Marek each had six rebounds.

The win guaranteed the Wildcats a trophy game Saturday.

“Hopefully it’s a big one,” Mercado said of a trophy.

Kellogg 54, Jerome 50

Kellogg 10 9 10 25 - 54 Jerome 17 14 4 15 - 50

Kellogg - Co. Lewis 2, Mercado 7, Corkill 14, C. Marek 3, Ch. Lewis 3, Rice 11, Carlson 8, H. Marek 6.

Jerome - Williams 20, Cozakas 2, Thompson 5, Garcia 0, Dirksen 10, Walter 10, Walgamott 3, Hollifield 0.

Moscow 53, Preston 48

It’s not a typo. The Bears led 4-0 after the first period.

They extended it to 25-9 by halftime. The Indians tried to rally in the fourth, but Moscow was too much to overcome.

Point guard Adam Miller was his usual outstanding self, scoring a team-high 20 points. Chad Curtis added 11.

MOSCOW (53) - Brown 4, Strobel 2, Miller 20, Kuska 2, Curtis 11, Cosgrove 2, Richards 6, Owen 6.

PRESTON (48) - Heusser 21, T. Porter 5, Talbot 5, D. Porter 4, Creel 4, Woolf 2, Larsen 7.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: A-2 STATE TOURNAMENT Moscow 53, Preston 48 Snake River 59, Emmett 53 Bishop Kelly 78, Sugar-Salem 68 Kellogg 54, Jerome 50

A-3 State Tournament Teton 51, Grangeville 35 Parma 70, West Side 56 Potlatch 61, W. Jefferson 53 New Plymouth 67, Delco 65

A-4 State Tournament Oakley 49, Rockland 41 Wilder 76, Highland-Craigmont 65 Hagerman 48, North Gem 43 Rimrock 66, Carey 44 Dietrich 66, Valley Christian 62 Troy 47, Mullan 34 Shoshone 44, Nampa Christian 42 Lakeside 71, Cascade 57