Basketball Whip-Around: Boys’ district tournaments get rolling

EASTERN IDAHO — Of the 11 district tourney games played Tuesday, eight teams defended home court, with three upsets offsetting early-round action.

Pocatello was one of the teams able to hold serve, knocking off crosstown rival Century to earn a showdown with conference champ Preston on Thursday. Soda Springs clobbered winless Aberdeen, and Sho-Ban became the first team eliminated from the playoffs with a loss at Grace Lutheran.

Here is some of the action you may have missed Tuesday.

Upsets

The Grace Grizzlies (8-13, 1-1) earned a conference championship and the 2A District 5-6 tournament’s top seed via tie-breakers, after splitting two regular-season meetings with the Butte County Pirates (15-8, 1-1).

Butte County reclaimed the advantage Tuesday, beating the Grizzlies, 54-53, at Grace High School. Grace will face winless Alturas Prep (0-13, 0-0) on Monday to earn a rematch with the Pirates, with just one state spot up for grabs.

The 6A D4-5-6 tournament has been completely turned on its head, with the road team winning both of Tuesday’s games.

No. 5 Rigby (9-13, 0-8) dropped conference champ Thunder Ridge (17-5, 7-1), 52-49. The Trojans’ claimed their first conference win of the season, beating the No. 1 seed in the opening round of the district tournament for passage into the district championship round.

At Madison High School, No. 4 Canyon Ridge (11-10, 2-6) topped the 3-seed Bobcats (8-14, 4-4), 69-59, for the right to face No. 2 Highland (17-4, 7-1) on Thursday.

With the pair of upsets, the top-seeded Titans will play for their playoff lives Thursday, when they host Madison.

The five teams are battling for two state bids.

Century @ Pocatello

Led by senior big man Hunter Cordell, No. 2 Pocatello (14-7, 3-1) extended its modest winning streak to four with a 52-41 victory over No. 3 Century at Pocatello High School. The Thunder will face No. 1 Preston (18-3, 3-1) on the road Thursday, with a spot in the district championship round on the line.

Cordell finished with a game-high 19, with fellow seniors Tavin Williams (11) and Jordan Wilkinson (10) joining him in double-digits. The Diamondbacks were led by senior Adrian Gonzalez, with 11.

Century will await the loser of Thursday’s Preston-Poky matchup for an elimination game next Tuesday.

The 5A D5 tournament championship will earn the district’s lone state berth.

Sho-Ban @ Grace Lutheran

No. 5 Grace Lutheran (13-6, 5-5) knocked out No. 8 Sho-Ban (9-9, 4-6), 72-57, at Grace Lutheran High School, behind 23 points from junior Ethan Dillon.

After losing at No. 1 Rockland last Friday, the Chiefs are not just the first team from the 1A D5-6 tournament to be eliminated, they are the first team from the fifth or sixth district to have their season end.

The Royals will now face No. 3 Taylor’s Crossing (12-8, 7-3) in an elimination game next Tuesday.

The Eagles lost to No. 2 Watersprings (21-2, 9-1), 67-48, to fall into the losers’ bracket.

Aberdeen @ Soda Springs

The 3-seeded Cardinals (13-7, 5-4) beat the 6-seeded Tigers, 73-39, to get their 3A D4-5 tournament started. Seven Soda Springs players finish the game with six points or more, including a game-high 15 from sophomore Jaxon Horsley.

Aberdeen was paced by senior Ronaldo Serna, with 10 points.

The next matchup for Soda Springs takes them to West Side, where they will face the 2-seed Pirates (13-7, 4-3) Thursday. The Tigers will play No. 5 Malad (11-11, 4-4), also Thursday, at Malad High School.

The top two finishers in this district tournament will qualify for the state tournament in Nampa, beginning March 5.