Rigby stormed by Owyhee; Grace, Firth, Soda Springs, Marsh Valley, Bonneville all fall in opening round

TREASURE VALLEY — The Rigby Trojans knew coming to Nampa that they would have their hands full in a Thursday matchup against the top-seeded Owyhee Storm.

Head coach Justin Jones said his team’s upset hopes hinged on the ability to challenge shots and secure rebounds.

Rigby did the first half of that assignment, forcing the Storm into contested shots. But they did not collect the misses. Owyhee used a massive rebounding edge to hand the Trojans a 69-54 loss.

“Way too many offensive boards,” Jones said after the game. “Coming in, we knew we had to contain and rebound. I thought we did a great job of containing, forced some tough shots, but did not finish rebounding.”

Jones and the Trojans made some adjustments at halftime, closing the rebounding gap as well as the score. But a heroic effort fell short.

Led by senior forward Weston Walker, who scored a game-high 18 points on a highly efficient 8-of-11 shooting, Rigby all but erased a second-half deficit that topped out at 19 points. The Trojans actually had a chance to cut Owyhee’s lead to single digits with just over five minutes to play in the fourth, when the Storm were called for an intentional foul giving Rigby two free throws and possession.

Rigby got just one of the free throws to fall, then were unable to score. The failed opportunity seamed to suck the wind from Rigby’s sails, leading to a 14-6 Owyhee run to close the game.

“Eventually, we were able to (get rebounds falling Owyhee misses), and we made some nice runs during those moments that we did rebound,” Jones said. … “I’m proud of our guys for the fight. We kinda let down in that area. But overall, I’m super-proud of my boys.”

Jones said he loved the “battle” Rigby showed coming back against the reigning champs. He singled out Walker, who added four rebounds, three assists and a steal to his 18 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

“He’s had a great year,” the coach said of his senior big man. “I have high expectations for him, and he met them today. He came out and played a great game.”

With the loss, Rigby falls into the consolation bracket, where consecutive wins would still earn them a state trophy, something the program has been without since finishing third place in 2022.

“Our goal is, do what we do,” Jones said of the Trojans’ approach going forward. … “We’re hungry.”

They will face Kuna in the noon game at Rocky Mountain High School Friday.

5A

The Bonneville Bees threatened their own improbable near-comeback, outscoring Preston 28-9 in the fourth quarter to trim what had been a 33-point deficit to just 11. Like Rigby, though, the Bees’ efforts came up just short.

Bonneville was led by Lucas Arave, who scored 11 points off the bench in the loss.

Preston was paced by the trio of Wayd Bailey, Kasen Bryce and Parker Galloway. Bailey’s game-high 31 points came on 12-18 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3, while he added three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Bees will battle Twin Falls in the 7 p.m. consolation bracket game at Rocky Mountain, while Preston advances into the semis to take on Bishop Kelly at 2 p.m. at the Ford Idaho Center.

4A

Marsh Valley faced conference rival Snake River for the fourth time this season at Eagle High School, and had a golden upset opportunity.

The Eagles, who lost their three previous matchups with the Panthers by a combined 56 points, had possession in a tied game with under a minute left. After coming up empty, Marsh Valley appeared to have the stop they needed to force overtime, when Nash Guthrie blocked Snake River’s Owen Jones at the rim.

Jones, though, quickly recovered the rebound and laid the ball in off the glass through contact for a potential and-1 and three-point lead.

The officials deemed Snake River’s celebration excessive and called a technical foul. And after Jones missed his free throw, Marsh Valley sent Jaxson Smith to the line with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Making both would have tied the game and likely meant overtime, but the senior, who entered the game shooting a team-best 81% from the free throw line, missed both and Snake River escaped with a 58-56 win.

Smith finished with a team-high 15 points. Jones also scored 15, to go with 11 rebounds off the bench.

Marsh Valley will face Homedale in the 2 p.m. loser-out game at Eagle High School. Snake River will face Cole Valley for a spot in the state championship game at 7 p.m.

3A

Firth and Soda Springs both fell into the consolation bracket with losses against district opponents.

The Cougars were dropped 52-40 by the Ririe Bulldogs, despite a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double from Wyatt Killpack. Firth will face Parma in the consolation bracket, noon at Meridian High School, while Ririe advances to take on St. Maries at 5 p.m. in the semis.

The Cardinals were bested, 61-52, by Wendell. They were paced by Gavin Hansen, who scored 17 points.

Soda Springs will face Orofino in a loser-out game for the right to play for a consolation trophy. That game will also be at Meridian, with tip set for 2 p.m.

2A

Grace suffered a 72-49 defeat at the hands of top-seeded Kendrick. The Grizzlies were led by Bodee Smith and Carter Meacham, who scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.

They will face Valley in the consolation bracket at Vallivue High School with tip scheduled for noon.