Hagerman Earns Top Spot In Final Poll
Idaho prep basketball
The season’s final Associated Press high school basketball poll, which for weeks has flip-flopped Hagerman and Troy atop its A-4 rankings, put the Pirates at No. 1 at the end of the regular season.
Both teams have just one loss, but Hagerman’s recent 20-point victories over Raft River and A-2 Jerome’s junior varsity impressed more of the state’s sportswriters and broadcasters than the Trojans’ 73-39 blowout of Culdesac.
The rest of the A-4 rankings stayed the same, with Lakeside, Wilder and Mackay rounding out the top five.
In a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup among the biggest schools, Skyline upset Highland of Pocatello 58-45 and took over the top spot.
Coeur d’Alene and Pocatello improved their records to 16-4 with two victories and stayed in the final two spots in the A-1 rankings, and Borah of Boise failed to crack the top five despite first- and second-place votes.
Emmett was a near-unanimous choice for No. 1 among the A-2 teams, giving up just one first-place vote to No. 2 Preston. Moscow dropped two positions to fifth after last week’s loss to Kellogg, allowing Bishop Kelly and Snake River to climb one spot each to third and fourth, respectively.
Top-ranked Declo finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in A-3, with conference foe Wendell on its heels at No. 2. Firth defeated Butte County and took over third from the Pirates, who fell out of the rankings.
Kimberly remained fourth after a loss to the top-ranked Hornets, and West Jefferson edged Butte County by two points to enter the poll at No. 5.
xxxx On the radio Lake City and Post Falls girls basketball games at the State A-1 Tournament in Nampa will be broadcast live by KVNI (AM 1080) radio. University of Idaho men’s basketball games will be aired on a delayed basis if there are conflicts with Lake City or Post Falls.