‘Gym ray’ Murillo comes up clutch to help American Falls claim 1-point victory at Marsh Valley

ARIMO — American Falls senior Fred Murillo is, as head coach Stephen Grigg described him, a “gym rat.” The kind of player who will text the coach at 8 p.m. on a Thursday and ask to be let into the gym so he can get some shots up.

So when Murillo was fouled in a tied game with 8 seconds left, the Beavers had the utmost confidence he would come through.

The packed Marsh Valley gym shook with jeers from the home crowd, but Murillo calmly swished the first. After an Eagle timeout, he bricked the second. But the deciding point had already been scored as Marsh Valley sophomore Nash Guthrie could not connect on his driving attempt at a game-winner on the other end, with the buzzer sounding on a 62-61 Beaver win.

“It’s so difficult,” Murillo said of the game-winning free throw. “It was so hostile, I’m just glad I came through. I practice every day, shoot lots of free throws. … I was ready for that moment.”

Murillo was only in that situation because senior point guard Zak Grigg, who had carried the scoring load much of the second half, found him in the paint.

“Coach said, ‘Find whoever’s open,’ and Fred is always going to get open,” Zak said. “I gave him the ball with full trust in my teammate.”

Zak, like his teammates and coaches, showed no surprise as the eventual game-winner tickled the twine.

“Fred’s a great shooter,” Stephen said. “We wanted him to make both, obviously, to help us out there, but he got one of the two, which was big.”

Even with Murillo’s make, American Falls (12-3, 1-0) needed one last stop, and Marsh Valley (11-5, 0-1), after stumbling a bit in the third to relinquish the lead it had held all night, was not going to make it easy.

The Eagles used senior point guard Jaxson Smith, the team’s leading scorer on the night with 20, as a decoy to give Gutrhie a driving chance. But the entire Beaver defense damed the path, leaving the sophomore forward, along with his team, frustrated in defeat.

American Falls and Marsh Valley were tied tonight with 8 seconds left. That was when AF's Fred Murillo was fouled and hit one of two free throws. MV's Nash Guthrie did not get the call on the other end. AF, 62-61.#idpreps pic.twitter.com/NSX8xWah47

— Kalama Hines (@HINESight_2020) January 30, 2026

Despite the miss at the buzzer, Guthrie overcame some early foul trouble to post a very respectable 19-point, six-rebound, one-block performance. Smith added four rebounds and three steals to go with his team-leading 20 points.

Zak led all scorers with 24, 19 of which came in the second half, to go with nine rebounds, one block and three steals. Murillo’s scoring was confined to the game-winning free throw and a pair of 3-pointers that helped push American Falls along the comeback trail.

The Eagles led the Beavers 18-12 after one quarter, and 28-24 at halftime. American Falls finished reeling in the Marsh Valley in the third, as Zak started to assert himself offensively.

Smith, Guthrie and the Eagles continued to answer, but the Beavers took a slim 47-44 lead into the start of the fourth quarter.

While Zak did the lion’s share of the work, everyone who played — and it was most of the roster — contributed. Senior Kahlen Hernandez, who dealt with his own foul issues, had a burst in which he recorded two points, two rebounds and a blocked shot in a span of less than a minute. Sophomore Austin Teichert scored five points and grabbed a steal in limited playing time.

Murillo called the performance “very huge,” saying it proved that American Falls can play with anyone in the state.

“It’s big for us because now we can go into conference and know that we can play with these guys,” Zak added. “We’ve got the guys.”

Murillo concluded, “We have the mindset after this win.”

Their coach echoed those sentiments, saying that this Beaver team was built to play together and with balance.

“That’s a good team over there, and it was a big game in district play. It’s good to start off 1-0 in-district,” Stephen said. “Kudos for the kids. They work hard every day in practice, and they want to get to the state tournament.”

Finally, he spoke about Murillo, who, like Zak, showed he is capable of coming up big when his team needs it.

“Fred’s a gym rat. I really appreciate how hard Fred has worked on his game, and tonight it paid off for him. I’m proud of Fred,” he said.

Marsh Valley and American Falls will meet again at American Falls on Feb. 6.