Five Even Matchups Tonight in the 5A SIC

December 20, 2011, 12:52 pm
The marquee matchup tonight will put the defending State Champion Mountain View Mavericks up against the defending District Champion, Centennial Patriots.  These two were picked to finish pretty well by the coaches, but Centennial has struggled early and currently have a 3-4 overall record.  In a year that so far has been highlighted by strong defensive play, these two are the top scoring offenses in the 5A SIC, so there is a possibility we might even see a team score in the 60's tonight.  You can hear that game on 630 The Fan with tip-off slated for 7:30.

Timberline has done well recently against teams in the bottom half of the SIC and they will get a chance to prove they belong in the top half with a showdown against Eagle tonight.  both of these teams are 4-1 in conference play and will feature two of the top scorers in the conference with Eagle's Braiden Shaw and Timberline's Jarid Downey, who is now in full swing after being suspended during the beginning of the season.

The other big time showdown will feature the top two teams defensively in the 5A SIC when Boise looks to gain some more respect when they travel to take on Borah.  The Lions are starting to click on all cylinders and after suffering their only defeat of the season against Mountain View, they have won four straight including double digit wins over Eagle and Centennial last week.  Boise High played two close contests and came away with a split thanks to Joe Simpson's tip in against Rocky Mountain as the Braves won 53-51.

The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies have been competitive in every game this season, but have found themselves on the other side of the 8-ball and are 1-4 in conference play.  Vallivue has lost three straight games at home and are looking to turn things around offensively as one of these teams will move into sole possession of 7th place after tonight's game.

Capital and Meridian will play tonight where one team will finally get their first conference win of the season.  Both teams are young and trying to figure out their identity, and one will finally be rewarded when the two will play at Capital at 7:30.

Tomorrow we will have a full recap on all of the games and hear from some of the star players that perform well tonight.  Don't forget that you can hear the Mountain View vs. Centennial game right here on 630 The Fan at 7:30

Borah Dominates Eagle to Leave Mountain View as the Only Remaining Unbeaten Team

December 16, 2011, 10:23 am
By virtue of the Borah Lion's stellar defensive play last night, they handed the Eagle Mustangs their first loss of the season leaving the defending state champion, Mountain View Mavericks as the only undefeated team left.  With that being said, don't think the Mavs win over Boise High came easy. 

The Braves out played Mountain View in the first half and held a 9 point lead halfway through the second quarter.  A few turnovers by Boise High allowed the Mavericks to get back into the game and Tanner Percifield made a half court shot at the buzzer to put Mountain View up by one going into the locker room.  On a night where Brandon Luedtke struggled to get into double digits because of Joe Simpson's stellar defensive effort, sophomore Branson Trube rose to the occasion for the Mavs as he had 14 points just two games after he broke his nose against Borah.  Mountain View should cruise Saturday against Meridian, but they will be tested again next Tuesday at Centennial.

The Borah Lions stymied Eagle right from the beginning of the game and held a 10 point advantage at halftime.  From there, Borah continued to dominate behind the solid post play of Ben Tucakovic as he had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  Cody Spjute came onto the scoring scene as well for Borah and if he can keep that up, it spells trouble for the rest of the SIC because that's another element the Lions would have to their already potent offense.

The battle of two desperate teams was won by Centennial as they outpaced Vallivue 62-53.  Timberline took care of business against Meridian to improve to 3-1 in SIC play and Rocky Mountain notched their first conference win as they knocked off Capital 47-37.

Join us today at Beef O'Brady's from 4-6 PM where we will recap all of the high school games and talk with a few of the star players that performed well last night.

5A SIC Basketball Action Tonight

December 15, 2011, 1:50 pm
The game of the night will take place in Eagle as the Borah Lions will look to ruin the Mustangs perfect record to date.  Braiden Shaw will get tested again against the size of Borah as they have multiple players that will be able to guard him.  Coach Tom Seifert has told me numerous times that he has other playmakers and for Eagle to improve to 6-0, they will need to show up tonight.  As for the Lions, they need to win to avoid falling to 2-2 out of the gate in conference play.
 
Another game will feature two teams in the top half of the conference as the defending state champion, Mountain View Mavericks will take on the Boise Braves.  The big question surrounding this game will be the health of senior forward, Joe Simpson.  He was hurt in the game against Timberline and his team responded well without him as they knocked off Vallivue in overtime.  The key to the Braves success this year has been their defense.  They allow less than 40 points per game and will need another strong effort tonight against the top offensive team in the conference. 

If there ever was a game in December that two teams were desperate to get a win, it is the matchup tonight of Centennial at Vallivue.  The Patriots are 2-3 and their three losses are by a COMBINED 4 points with the latest one being a one point defeat to Eagle.  On the other hand, Vallivue needs to protect their home floor.  With three games in a row at home, they need to take care of business at home and that starts tonight against Centennial.

The other two games are Timberline at Meridian and Capital at Rocky.  Timberline is the heavy favorite as the Warriors are still trying to find their identity this year under first year head coach, Mike Graefe.  The Wolves have used a balanced attack to move to 2-1 in conference play and if they don't beat themselves, they should move to 3-1.  When Capital travels to Rocky Mountain tonight, one team will be getting their first conference win.

You can listen to the Mountain View vs. Boise game tonight on 630 The Fan.  Tip-off is at 7:30. 

New High School Tradition?

December 14, 2011, 2:48 pm
The Eagle Mustangs keep proving the doubters wrong as they moved to 5-0 last night with a one point win over Centennial in a game where head coach Tom Seifert said that it was the Mustang's "first true test" of the season.  Braiden Shaw led the way again for Eagle and the schedule doesn't ease up for the Mustangs as they will host Borah tomorrow night.

There were no surprises last night with two of the top teams in the conference matching up against squads that are definitely in rebuilding mode.  Mountain View beat Capital 53-36 in a game where the final score was not as indicative of how much of a mismatch this game really was.  Brandon Luedtke sat the whole fourth quarter and Tanner Percifield was held under his season average in scoring, but the Mavericks still cruised to an easy win.  The Eagles have some pieces in place with Cam Carlsen and Hunter Young, but if they want to compete in the 5A SIC later on in the season, they will need someone else to start scoring on the offensive end.

Borah defeated Meridian 47-36 in a game where both teams struggled to score.  The Warriors tried to use a half-court trap to slow down the Lions and it worked for a while, but Borah pulled through in the end. 

The Timberline Wolves used a balanced attack to hold off Rocky Mountain 57-48.  The Grizzlies only had 8 points at halftime and had to climb uphill the rest of the game.  Three Wolves had eight rebounds and Jackson Reed was close to a double double as he finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

The upset of the night was the Boise Braves going on the road and defeating Vallivue without their leading scorer Joe Simpson. Alex Rant and Garrett Jones filled the void offensively as they each had 11 points.  The Braves will be tested tomorrow night when they host Vallivue.  You can hear that game on 630 The Fan.

As promised, here is the video of the student section in Massachusetts starting a new tradition.

http://www.sportsgrid.com/video/moses-parting-the-red-sea-fan-tradition/

Centennial Gets Back on Track

December 12, 2011, 11:54 am
The game of the weekend in the 5A SIC opener for both teams did not disappoint, as the Mountain View Mavericks protected home court and defeated Borah by the slimmest of margins winning 52-51.

After the two teams settled in, Mountain View exploded in the 2nd quarter and took a 10 point lead into the locker room behind the hot shooting of Randall Robinson.  It seemed every time the Mavericks needed a big shot and the offense was wearing down, Robinson delivered and became the hero in a game where he was not expected to be. 

For the top-ranked Lions, turnovers proved to be key as Isiah Wright had some communication issues with the rest of his teammates in the 4th quarter and when he threw a pass out of bounds in the final minute, it proved to be costly.  Ben Tucakovic really proved why he might be the best player in the 5A SIC as he scored 20 points and had 7 rebounds.  Neither team had a let down the next day as Borah beat Vallivue and Mountain View snuck past Timberline. 

A game that might not have too much meaning in early December, but might be the difference in determining district seeding was Timberline's one point win at Boise on Friday.  The Wolves and the Braves are both picked in the middle of the pack for the 5A SIC and judging by the way Timberline competed against Mountain View, they look like a team that will be in the mix in late February. 

It will be a busy week for all ten squads as they all will play on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week.

Tune in to 630 The Fan on Tuesday and Thursday as we will be broadcasting Mountain View basketball.  Tip time is at 7:30.