Co-Athletes of the Week lead their teams to Shootout titles

IDAHO FALLS — Two standout seniors led their teams to the top of their respective brackets in last week’s East Idaho Holiday Shootout, earning a shared nod as East Idaho Sports Co-Athletes of the Week.

Century High School’s Peja Weed was named Air Force Bracket MVP, after the Diamondbacks took down the Sugar-Salem Diggers, 60-58, to complete a 3-0 title run. Weed converted a game-winning and-1 three-point play with 3.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory and finish the title game with 17 points.

Two days prior, Bonneville’s Ryan Egbert scored a team-high 19 in leading the Bees past the bracket favorite and previously unbeaten Snake River Panthers. Egbert and the Bees hoisted the Marines Bracket trophy Saturday after beating Evanston (WY), 75-64, in that championship game.

Madison also put the finishing touches on a 3-0 run Saturday, beating Ridgevue, 62-52, to claim the Army Bracket trophy.

Bonneville head coach Cortland Hengel offered high praise for Egbert when discussing the senior following the Bees’ Thursday victory.

Hengel said that, offensively, Egbert is a huge part of what Bonneville does, but he offers just as much on the defensive end.

“He’s one of those multi-tools,” the coach said of Egbert. “Defensively, he can guard anyone that we ask him to. And offensively, he can attack.”

Bonneville (6-3, 2-0) leads the 5A High Country Conference, and will rely on Egbert as they look to win a regular season title over Hillcrest (6-3, 0-0).

Weed was as aggressive as he was clutch in Century’s crowning victory, attacking relentlessly all game, especially when his team needed a basket trailing by one in the waning seconds against the Diggers. That, according to head coach Ryan Frost, was when Weed shined most.

“Peja is so crafty with the ball. He’s hard to guard because you never know what he’s going to do,” Frost said. “What a competitor, to say, ‘we’re not going to lose this game.'”

Century (7-3, 0-0) trails Preston (10-1, 0-0) in the 5A South East Idaho Conference. The two top-ranked conference foes will face off for the first time this season, next week in Pocatello.