Big-City Boise Gets Boot From Eastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho boys basketball fans were down right giddy Thursday during the first round of the State A-1 high school basketball tournament.
All four entrants from the Boise area - Capital and the three teams from the Meridian School District, Centennial, Meridian and Eagle - were booted into the loser’s bracket at Idaho State University’s Holt Arena.
And all three eastern teams (Blackfoot, Rigby and playing host Highland) advanced to the semifinals.
Here’s the rub: District VI, where Rigby and Blackfoot reside, lost a full berth to state this year in boys and girls basketball and volleyball to District III (Boise area). District VI went from 2-1/2 to 1-1/2 berths while District III jumped from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2.
In hindsight, the re-distribution of berths in those sports was appropriate this year because just the top two teams in those sports in District VI deserved to go to state. The other teams were weak.
State officials made the decision based on present and expected growth in District III. Eagle is a first-year school and a new school in Nampa (Skyview) opens its doors next fall. And Boise patrons voted last week to build a fourth high school (Les Bois).
Additionally, A-2 schools Vallivue of Caldwell and Emmett have grown and could move to A-1 in three years.
Centennial, Eagle and Meridian won the three full berths to state while Capital had to defeat Post Falls in a cross-district playoff to earn a state berth and avoid a Boise shutout.
But the only thing the four District III schools can play for now is the consolation trophy. And that’s just fine with eastern Idaho folk.
Above the rim
It was Leap Day (Feb. 29) in more ways than one at the A-1 and A-2 tourneys Thursday.
Among several dunks, these three perhaps wowed the crowds the most.
Highland’s first play in its opener was an alley oop. Shane Griggs took a perfect lob from beyond the 3-point arc and threw it down with authority.
Lake City’s Scott Hoover had a well-timed putback as he vaulted over teammate Mike Asper and grabbed the ball as it bounded high off the rim and slammed it home. He got high marks for degree of difficulty because nine of 10 people polled would have predicted Hoover would have botched it.
Kellogg’s 6-foot-7 Casey Fisher found an open lane and gracefully dunked as he was fouled. It was an exclamation point to his 15-point outburt in the second quarter of Kellogg’s 64-50 opening-day win over Jerome.
Freudian slip?
Laurie Roberts, a Kellogg teacher and sister of former Kellogg coach David Roberts who’s in his first season at Meridian, questioned her brother about his itinerary when they met Wednesday evening at a pretourney coaches function.
“Are you going to stay through Saturday?” she asked.
Then she caught herself. What she meant to say was, what are your plans if you’re playing Saturday?
Roberts may have brought Meridian’s first team to state since it won the title in 1992, but the Warriors didn’t play like a first-time visitor in a hard-fought 62-57 loss to Lake City.
This ‘n that
Highland senior guard Tennison Tripple has an appropriate name. He can shoot the trey, and we’re not talking with his tippy toes hugging the 3-point arc. Going into Highland’s opener, Tripple had made 100 3-pointers. He added four more to lead the Rams’ minor upset of defending state champion Centennial. And one of the shots was launched from 24 feet.
At the traditional A-1 and A-2 coaches breakfast Thursday, the coaches were asked to say a few words about their teams. Lake City’s Jim Winger took a moment to praise his team of academic wizards. He pointed out his team boasts two valedictorians (Jerid Keefer and Brock Bemis) and a salutatorian (Ryan Scharnhorst) among several brains. Which prompted this response from Meridian coach David Roberts, a friend of Winger’s and LC’s first-round opponent: “If you bring your team by our motel before the game, Jim, you’ll find our five starters studying calculus. They have a test next week.”
Speaking of academics, trophies will be given to the State Academic champions for boys basketball in each classification during halftime of the state title games. The winners are: A-1, Minico, 3.62 gradepoint average; A-2, Bear Lake, 3.57; A-3, Valley, 3.51; and A-4, Murtaugh, 3.67.
, DataTimes