STATE 2A BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Goals met so far ... Defending state 2A champion St. Maries advances to semis for eighth straight year
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY St. Maries senior guard Connor Wolfe pulls down a rebound during Thursday's state 2A boys basketball quarterfinal game against Firth at Capital High in Boise.
JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY St. Maries junior guard Greyson Sands drives past the defense of Firth's Bridger Holley during Thursday's state 2A quarterfinal game at Capital High in Boise.
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
BOISE — Five out of six ain’t bad.
The third-seeded St. Maries Lumberjacks had a list of six goals heading into their first-round game with the No. 6 Firth Cougars at the state 2A boys basketball tournament Thursday night at Capital High.
The Lumberjacks, looking to repeat as state champs, accomplished five of them en route to a 46-34 victory and a trip to the semifinals for an eighth straight year.
“I think the only one we didn’t accomplish was our 3-point percentage,” St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. “We were trying to hold them under 40, we wanted to shoot 70 percent from the free-throw line, 40 percent from the field, we wanted to keep it under 10 turnovers, plus we wanted to out-rebound them by seven or more.”
To review: St. Maries shot 75% (9 of 12) from the line, 40.9% (18 of 44) from the field, finished right at 10 turnovers, and out-rebounded Firth 31-19. The Lumberjacks had 17 offensive rebounds, three each by Sean Elliott and Tyler Renner (St. Maries’ sixth man of late, who suffered an ankle injury in the first half and watched the second half from the bench in a boot).
“I just thought our bigs did a good job rebounding,” Chase said.
Senior Tristan Gentry-Nelson had 12 points and nine rebounds for St. Maries (19-3), which will play West Side (19-8) in a semifinal game tonight at 6 PST at Capital. West Side beat Bear Lake (12-13) 40-28.
St. Maries beat West Side 41-33 in overtime at a tournament in Meridian in December.
“We played two good quarters, that fourth quarter was a little lax,” Gentry-Nelson said. “We need to put together a full game; that’s a struggle we’ve had all year.”
Junior Greyson Sands had 13 points for St. Maries, which took the lead for good with a 9-0 run in the second quarter. Sands made a 3 during that run, and a couple of backup guards, Jared Badgett and
Connor Wolfe, chipped in baskets as well.
The 6-foot-6 Gentry-Nelson even moved out front to help the Lumberjacks run some clock in the second half and protect the ball.
“With Coleman (Ross) fouling out, that was huge for him to be able to help take care of the ball. You don’t have too many 6-6 guards than can do that,” Chase said. “We’re not afraid to use him in that situation; it’s a nice luxury to have.”
Austin Jacobsen and Kamren Longhurst scored eight points each for Firth (16-10), which shot 11 of 31 from the field.
“We knew against these guys we had to mix it up defensively,” Chase said. “1-3-1, 2-3, man to man, every couple minutes we would shift defenses to keep them off balance.”
One of St. Maries’ three losses this season came to Ambrose, which lost to Melba in the first round on Thursday.
“We still have to prove ourselves again,” Gentry-Nelson said of winning another title. “We still don’t get respect down here. No respect, so that’s still a chip on our shoulder that we have. If we keep our heads on straight, we know we can do it.”
Firth 16 5 5 8 — 34
St. Maries 17 10 11 8 — 46
FIRTH — S. Park 4, Vasquez 0, B. Park 7, Leslie 3, A. Jacobsen 8, Hampton 2, Holley 0, K. Jacobson 2, Longhurst 8. Totals 11-31 8-12 34 34.
ST. MARIES — Gentry-Nelson 12, Sands 13, Badgett 2, Ross 4, Wolfe 2, Elliott 1, T. Renner 4, Wicks 0, C. Renner 8, Hill 0. Totals 18-44 9-12 46.
