Basketball Whip-Around: Rockland, Highland extend wining streaks, Century tops Jerome again

EASTERN IDAHO — With one month remaining in the boys basketball regular season, teams are looking to get hot and build momentum into the playoffs.

Some teams are already beginning to find their groove, like the Rockland Bulldogs, who have won four straight games after topping Leadore on Saturday. The Highland Rams pushed their winning streak to three with a victory over Bonneville, and the Century Diamondbacks topped Jerome to get back into the win column.

Bulldogs best Mustangs

Rockland (8-2, 2-0) got a massive performance from junior point guard Xavier Parrish to earn a conference victory over Leadore (4-4, 0-1), 72-45.

The Bulldogs won every quarter, including a 21-point outburst in the first quarter to set the tone.

Parrish was a huge part of that hot start, scoring 11 points in the period.

He finished the game with 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Senior Ethan Permann chipped in with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Leadore was paced by junior Dane Piippo, the only Mustang to finish in double-figures with 17 points.

Rockland continues its conference road trip Thursday, when they visit American Heritage (4-2, 0-1) looking to keep their winning ways rolling.

Leadore will be at Sho-Ban (2-2, 0-1) Monday, with both teams looking for their first conference win.

Diamondbacks nip Tigers

Century (5-7, 0-0), looking to piece together some momentum, got 30 points from junior Justus Mangum en route to a 69-33 home victory over Jerome.

Senior Adrian Gonzalez contributed 16 points to the effort, as the Diamondbacks’ starting backcourt combined for two-thirds of the teams’ scoring.

Century will host Preston (11-2, 0-0) Wednesday as they look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season while firing the opening salvo in the 5A South East Idaho Conference.

Rams bash Bees

After grabbing a sizable first-half lead, Highland (10-2, 2-0) had to withstand a third-quarter rush from Bonneville (4-7, 2-2). They did so, putting together their own run and riding to a 70-42 win.

Every Ram who played scored at least two points, led by senior Tracen Tripple, with 17, and junior Colton Stucki, with 15.

Up big late in the game, Highland ran a five-man lineup that included two sets of brothers — Dallin and Marshall Glenn, and Cedric and Malakai Mitchell.

Bonneville was led by senior Tyler Jordan, who scored 13 points.

The Rams will look to finish 2-0 against their crosstown rival, Pocatello (5-6, 0-0), when the two face off Wednesday at poky.

The Bees will face Hillcrest (5-7, 2-1) Wednesday at Bonneville, in a match-up of teams that qualified for the state tournament last year but are still looking for momentum this year.