Im-press-ive repeat

NAMPA — Junior Williams’ knee and, to a lesser extent, Jonny Hillman’s head might disagree, but Saturday morning’s 1A Division II title game was a relatively stress-free performance for the Genesis Prep Jaguars.

Genesis Prep pressed its way to a 23-4 lead after 11 minutes, and coasted to a 59-33 victory over the Carey Panthers at the Ford Idaho Center for its second straight state title.

“Last year, it was happiness, and it was an awesome feeling,” said Hillman, the Jaguars’ junior guard who scored a game-high 21 points. “This year, it’s a lot more deeper than that. It’s a lot more emotional win for us. I honestly feel better about this win, even though last year’s game was closer (68-62 over Dietrich), and there was more emotion in the game. With the seven seniors, and all the adversity that we had to go through this year, this one feels a lot more special.”

Williams and Jake Shelton, two of six seniors on the varsity, each scored eight points for Genesis Prep (21-4).

Williams, the Jaguars’ second-leading scorer, went down late in the first quarter when his right knee locked up while he was playing help-side defense.

“They said it might be a torn meniscus,” Williams said.

After icing it for a bit, then cheering on his teammates, he and other seniors came back in for the final few seconds. With the clock winding down, he took a pass on the left wing and drained a 3, holding the follow through for several seconds.

“It felt great,” said Williams, who hobbled out of the locker room for the interview. “My brothers were cheering me on, they gave me the ball, they gave me an opportunity to hit a last shot.”

“It’s a God thing that he hit that 3,” Genesis Prep coach Marsell Colbert said. “We didn’t expect him to shoot the ball. It wasn’t about him shooting the ball, just getting him out there so he could finish his career on the floor. And just to show you how God works, he hits that 3 … wow.”

The rout was on from the opening tip, which went to Hillman for a layup five seconds into the game. Hillman’s steal and score started a 14-0 run over the last 5 1/2 minutes of the first quarter. Williams made a 3 and a pull-up jumper during that run, and Max Reidt sank a 3 to cap it.

Carey had eight turnovers and only five field-goal attempts (and just one make) in the first quarter.

Hillman, at the head of the Jaguars’ 1-2-2 zone press, had seven steals. Genesis Prep’s quickness and length caused Carey problems and others, led by Reidt and Shelton, were also in on the thievery.

“We always talk about big starts, the first five minutes of the first half, first five minutes of the second half,” Hillman said. “We knew if we pressured them well, we could get some turnovers and start out well.”

“We want to set the tone from the outset of the game,” Colbert said. “We’ve got to come out and go to work right away. Little things turn into big things. When our defense is going, that gets our offense going. That’s what you saw today. These kids are resilient, they worked hard to get to this point, and they finished it.”

Genesis Prep took its biggest lead at 23-4 on a basket by Jacob Schultz with 5 minutes left in the first half.

“We just figured we had to make baskets, and limit turnovers a little bit,” Carey coach Dick Simpson said. “It’s going to be hard to outrebound them.

“They move the ball well. They’ve got outside shooters. It’s hard to double down when they’ve got that kind of presence from the outside.”

Kon Ajang finished with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot for Genesis Prep, and countless other shots the 6-foot-9 junior affected. He seemed just as happy getting an assist as he did scoring on the drop step, or dunking on the lob.

“We play together; we’re family,” Ajang said. “It’s not all about the points, it’s just about having fun, and playing together. Feed your brother.”

Kaden Koudelka scored nine points to lead Carey (21-6), which shot 28.9 percent (13 of 45) from the field, and committed 16 turnovers.

Colbert, in his fourth year as varsity head coach, was emotional afterward. When he was hired at Genesis Prep, he coached the middle school team for a season, so he’s coached seniors Shelton and Jacob Schroeder for five years.

He coached the varsity in its last season in the Mountain Christian League, before it joined the North Star League. In the three years the program has been sanctioned by the Idaho High School Activities Association, Genesis Prep has finished third, first and first at state.

“It’s been a tough year, man,” Colbert said. “This is probably one of the angriest years of basketball I’ve ever been a part of. With the decision (by the Idaho High School Activities Association that, effective in the 2018-19 school year, international (F-1) students can play during the regular season, but will not be allowed to play in the postseason), punishing kids that deserve the right to be here, and deserve the right to compete. So it was a rough year, but knowing that we finished what we started, I’m happy.”

Asked if the decision motivated the Jaguars this season …

“Oh yeah,” Colbert said. “It was just motivation. It seemed like every time you turned around, there was something else. It was like, OK, we’ll use that as motivation also.”

As for next year …

“We’re staying together,” Colbert said. “We’re family. We’re family. And we’re going to stay together. We’re staying together. We’re family.”

Carey 2 14 5 12 — 33

Genesis Prep 16 17 11 15 — 59

CAREY — Simpson 2, Hennefer 6, D. Parke 4, Koudelka 9, Mecham 2, Wayment 3, B. Parke 4, Dilworth 3, D. Parke 0, Smith 0. Totals 13-45 4-7 33.

GENESIS PREP — Shelton 8, Mwinuka 5, Reidt 2, Neely 0, Williams 8, Schroeder 3, Hillman 21, Schultz 2, Ajang 8, Gonzales 2, Morillo Soto 0, Bohannan 0. Totals 22-57 9-14 59.