Pocatello beats Hillcrest to capture Idaho 4A boys basketball state championship (photo gallery)
NAMPA, Idaho — After a pair of heartbreaking championship game losses, Pocatello finally slayed mighty Hillcrest at the Class 4A State Tournament.
For the third year in a row, the two Southeast Idaho boys basketball powers squared off in the 4A final. The Knights won the previous two showdowns, but Pocatello flipped the script Saturday before an electric crowd at the Ford Idaho Center.
Boise State signee Julian Bowie shook off a nasty first-half tumble and netted 16 fourth-quarter points, willing the top-seeded Thunder to a 73-67 victory over No. 2 Hillcrest.
“They’ve been here three times and it’s gone bad for two years, and they pulled together,” Pocatello head coach Joe Green said. “They never doubted … and they knew they were going to win a state championship this year. They did all of this work, they earned it and I’m just so proud of them.”
Late in the first half with Pocatello leading 37-32, Bowie landed awkwardly on his back after attempting to block an Isaac Davis shot. The senior point guard stayed on the ground for a few minutes and gingerly walked off the court holding his back.
Bowie looked out of sorts in the third quarter before the soreness eventually wore off. He drilled a big 3-pointer and went 9 for 9 from the foul line in the final period to finish with 20 points.
“It was just my mentality,” said Bowie, who said he felt a sharp pain in his whole right leg for about 10 seconds after the fall. He initially thought he wouldn’t be able to return, but some halftime treatment finally kicked in.
“I was like ‘this is it. This is my last ever high school game, I have to do something.’”
Bowie, who also had 12 rebounds and four assists, was fouled on a 3-pointer with 3:38 remaining and converted all three for a 63-58 lead. He knocked down two more from the line at the 1:28 mark to make it a 69-62 game, and Pocatello protected the ball down the stretch to win its first state title since 2000.
Drey Contreras led the Thunder (22-5) with 22 points and seven rebounds while Kesler Vaughan added 18 points.
Davis, a 6-foot-7 BYU signee, had a monster game for Hillcrest (19-7), putting up 23 points and 13 rebounds.
“They just played better than we did today, and there's nothing wrong with that,” Hillcrest coach Dave Austin said. “If it was a seven-game series, it probably comes down to that seventh game. We’re pretty evenly matched, and you’ve got to give them credit today.”
(All photos by Loren Orr)
