‘Blue-collar’ Wildcats earn fourth place
MERIDIAN, Idaho – Kellogg’s boys basketball program is back. The Wildcats knocked off Fruitland 52-49 Saturday morning at Meridian High to win the consolation bracket of the State 3A tournament.
The Wildcats hadn’t appeared at state in five years and hadn’t won a trophy in at least eight years. When coach Jeremy Bergquist took over in 2002-03, the Wildcats had lost 42 of 44 games the previous two seasons.
They finished this season 15-11, with a second-place effort at district and a fourth-place trophy at state.
“I’ve thought about this for years and years,” Kellogg senior guard Seth Patton said. … “We worked hard and brought the program back where it needs to be. It used to be a basketball town, and I think we’re there again.”
The Wildcats couldn’t match the size or the skill of the favorites at the 3A tournament, including first-round opponent Snake River and Fruitland. Yet they nearly derailed Snake River, which reached the title game, and led Fruitland by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. They beat Payette in the consolation semifinals.
The Wildcats did it with passion, frantic defense and the uncanny ability to hit the big shots when they needed them most.
“I’m especially proud of our seniors, because they’ve worked so hard and they are good kids,” Bergquist said. “They stay out of trouble, they get good grades and they are just all-around good people. They are maybe not as talented as the kids down south, and certainly not as big. It’s a blue-collar effort by a blue-collar team.”
The team had a little outside inspiration.
The Wildcats visited Bergquist’s gravely ill grandmother, June Bergquist, in Boise on Thursday before their first-round game. Players signed a banner for her and chatted with her.
“She was beside herself,” Bergquist said. … “We did this for Grandma. She couldn’t come to us, so we brought Kellogg to her.”
Patton led the Wildcats with 14 points. Senior Tyler Powers and junior Jacob Conboy added 10 points apiece. Senior Kevin Priest contributed six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Fruitland, with four players who ranged from 6-foot-2 to 6-6, racked up 22 offensive rebounds and dominated 15-2 in second-chance points. Kellogg’s tallest player is the 6-3 Powers.
Andrew Dahle, a 6-2 freshman, led the Grizzlies (17-8) with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Kellogg got off to a fast start in the contest that began at 9:15 a.m. MST, 8:15 on the Wildcats’ body clocks. Jacob Kagarise nailed a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter to build a 20-9 lead, and the Wildcats led by 10 at the half.
Fruitland charged back in the third quarter with help from a technical foul on Conboy, who fouled out in the process. Three free throws cut the Grizzlies’ deficit to 37-33 with just more than 1 minute left.
The Wildcats, who struggled all week to show patience when Bergquist asked them to hold the ball for the final shot of the quarter, finally executed. Freshman Jeremiah Big Spring capped a minute-long possession with a 3-pointer from the wing that gave his team much-needed momentum.
“That gave us a push for the fourth quarter,” Bergquist said.
The Grizzlies pushed back, but could never get closer than three points. The Wildcats protected the ball and went to the free-throw line on each of their last eight possessions, hitting 8 of 14.
Fruitland’s Trent Gatzemeyer missed a difficult 3-pointer with 2 seconds left that would have tied it, and Big Spring grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
“This is everything,” said Priest, who moved to Kellogg in seventh grade. “I’ve been working for this ever since I moved here. This is what I’ve been focused on.
“In seventh grade, I was listening to (Kellogg in the state tournament) on the radio and I just wanted it so bad. We worked for it as a team and got it.”
In the championship game, the Snake River Panthers (22-3) edged the Shelley Russets (21-4) 37-35 for their third title in five years. Snake River had opened the tournament on Thursday by nipping Kellogg 59-56.