Alumni from 1995 school our current boys varsity team 96-75

Talk about a magical night. The WHS State Championship boys basketball team from 1995 converged in their old stomping grounds, the Tom Falash gym to challenge this year's third place at state boys basketball team. The whole purpose behind this is to promote a scholarship for a worthy WHS graduate.

　　Starters for the alumni were Danny Walker, Nick Fouch, Ben Boettcher (better known in those days as Benji), Jon Lindsey and Nathan Walker. Coincidently, this was the starting five in '95 as well. Starters for the varsity were Issac Zanelli, Justin Roberts, Tyler Hemphill, Brock Bumgarner and Elias Daniel. The Alumni stole the tip. Lindsey hit the first bucket. Danny W. to N. Walker for two. Zanelli to Daniel for two. Roberts was fouled making one free throw. Daniel hit a bucket to put the youngsters up by one. Fouch with the "O" rebound putback. Hemphill with the dish for two. Danny W. to Fouch for the hoop. Roberts knocked in a shot. Lindsey had the steal and zig zagged his way for three fourths of the court and finished with the shot. He is poetry in motion and light on his feet. I swear he hasn't lost a step in all those years.

　　Fouch was fouled making one shot, 11-9 Alumni. Derrel Walker putback an "O" rebound. Derrel Walker to Gregg Russell for two as the Alumni began to pull away, 15-9. Bruce Hamilton nailed a three from the top of the key. Philipp Schmitz putback his own "O" rebound, Daniel Brockett was fouled making one free throw. Brockett putback the "O" rebound, 18-14 Alumni. Garrett Crawford made a basket. Derrell Walker to Aaron Youckton for the three. Hamilton matched that wih his three. Brockett with the "O" rebound putback just before the buzzer. At the end of the first quarter, the Alumni led 23-19.

　　In the top of the second quarter, Jacoby Miller had a block. Logan Loomis to Miller inside for the bucket, 23-21 Alumni. Fouch hit the hook shot. Danny Walker for the three point shot, 28-21 Alumni. N. Walker to
Fouch for two. Lindsey stole the ball under the Varsity basket and finished with the easy shot, was fouled and drained the free throw, 33-21 Alumni. Loomis hit a baseline three. Loomis to Miller for two more. N. Walker for two. Brockett with the "O" rebound putback.

　　Brockett to Jason Svancara for the basket. Hamilton was fouled making one shot. Schmitz had the "O" rebound putback. Derrick Reyes to Bumgarner for two. Schmitz again put the rebound back in. Derrel Walker for two from the free throw line, 41-33 Alumni. Svancara made his presence known inside for the bucket. Roberts to Bumgarner for the reversed shot. At the half, Alumni 43, Varsity 35.

　　There were some incredible moves in that first half and the passing by the Alumni in the second half was brilliant. At one point, it was a contest to see which team could make the most three point shots in a row.

　　In the third quarter, Danny Walker was fouled making one free throw. Lindsey had the behind the back dribble, through his legs to Yuckton for the basket. Roberts sank a three from the baseline. Roberts for two more, 46-40 Alumni. Yuckton took a charge on defense. Lindsey knocked down a three. Derrel Walker had the "O" rebound to Fouch for the finish, 51-40. I overheard the Alumni comment that the floor was not as soft as they remembered.

　　Hemphill sank a three. Fouch putback his own "O" rebound. Russell stole the ball and finished with the lay-up. Hemphill to Zanelli for the three. Daniel hit a three. Boettcher hit a three. A three point miss broke the rhythm but not for long as Hemphill made a three on the next shot. Roberts hit a three, 58-55 Alumni. Russell to N. Walker for two. Brockett was fouled making one free throw. Yuckton drained two free throws. Fouch putback an "O" rebound. Lindsey to Derrel Walker for the shot at the end of the third quarter. Alumni 67, Varsity 55.

　　Crawford was fouled early in the fourth making one count. Schmitz had the block on defense. Fouch for the bucket. Ethan Thomas to Loomis for the baseline three. Danny Walker to Russell for the three. Hamilton banked in a three. Does this sound familiar? Roberts hit a baseline three, 76-65 Alumni. N. Walker to Brockett for the long two. Brockett to Svancara for two. N. Walker with the "O" rebound putback, twice in a row, 80-65. The only question in my mind at this point was whether or not the Alumni would hit a 100 points. There was about four mintues to play.

　　Miller had a shot fall through the hoop. Lindsey made his shot count. Hemphill was fouled making one. N. Walker to Yuckton for the three, 85-68 Alumni. Lindsey ran down a long defensive rebound, chucked the ball the full length of the court to Danny Walker for the two foot shot. Daniel sank a three. Lindsey to Yuckton for two, a pass that was caught in the air and banked in. Danny Walker hit a three point shot. Daniel sank a two. Derrel Walker for two. Reyes for the bucket. Boettcher to Danny Walker for two. Alas, time ran out before the century mark was hit. The Alumni schooled the varsity in a win 96-75.

　　This was a fun, fantastic game and don't let the Alumni men fool you. They still have game. They may hurt tomorrow but had fun tonight at any rate.
　　Scoring Alumni: Fouch 17, Lindsey and Yuckton 12 each, N. Walker and Brockett 10 each, Danny Walker 11, Derrel Walker 8, Russell 7, Svancara 6 and Boettcher 3. Varsity: Roberts 14, Daniel 12, Hamilton 10, Hemphill 9, Miller, Loomis and Schmitz 6 each, Bumgarner 4, Zanelli and Crawford 3 each and Reyes 2.

Weiser wins third place at State in overtime, 47-41.

  One thing that can be said about the state boys basketball tournament, there wasn't a dull game. Every game was close including Weiser's last on Saturday, March 3. Weiser was the visitor to Sugar-Salem. Weiser controlled the play for most of the game but in that fourth quarter, SS staged a come-back to knot the score 36-36. Weiser came out for the overtime with a determination to win this game and that's exactly what our boys did winning 47-41 and claiming third place in state. Weiser's defense is a large reason for their success with the quick hands and blazing speed of our boys.
  Starters were seniors Drew McKie and Issac Zanelli, juniors Tyler Hemphill, Elias Daniel and Justin Roberts. Weiser scored first off a hook shot by McKie with the assist from Zanelli. Daniel putback an offensive rebound. McKie to Roberts for the three, 7-2. McKie had the move inside for two. McKie rejected the ball which Brock Bumgarner picked up and passed to Bruce Hamilton on the fast break for the lay-up, 11-4. McKie came down with the defensive rebound, outlet passed to Bumgarner for the lay-up. SS screamed for a time-out with 1:08 on the clock. McKie had the steal with the pass going to Bumgarner on full sprint. At the last possible second, Bumgarner passed to his right to Derek Reyes for the lay-up. Weiser would lead 15-6 at the end of the first quarter.
  McKie hit the long two in the top of the second quarter. Daniel sank one free throw. Zanelli with the bucket, 20-11. Hemphill's speed caused a SS turnover. McKie sank two free throws. Hemphill caused another turnover with his quick hands. Zanelli drove the key banking the shot in. At the half, Weiser 24, SS 15.
  Sugar-Salem had the momentum going their way in the third as they clawed back into the game trailing by a point 24-23 halfway through the quarter. Bumgarner sank a free throw. Hamilton to McKie to Reyes back to Hamilton cutting through the key for the lay-up. It was that quick! Zanelli for three and breathing room. Weiser still had the lead 30-26 with eight minutes to play in regulation.
  McKie sank two free throws early in the fourth quarter. McKie to Zanelli for two, the foul and the made free throw, 35-26. The fouls began in earnest and the game became quite physical at this point. Weiser was making only half their free throws once again. Hemphill made one free throw. SS hit a three at 1:20 to tie the game 36-36. Weiser had time to use the clock but chose to shoot with the shot missing and SS claiming the rebound. SS used almost an entire minute before calling time-out to set up for the winning shot. The clock showed 12.9. SS went for the shot but McKie blocked the shot sending the teams into overtime tied 36-36.  WOW!
  The jumpball appeared to be going into Sugar-Salem's hands until Bumgarner stepped in and stole it. McKie went inside and it took four tries but he was able to put his own rebound through the cylinder. Daniel banked home a shot, 40-36. Bumgarner had the underhanded dish for two. Bumgarner made one free throw. McKie's block forced a jump ball. Sugar-Salem had to foul. Hemphill made one, McKie made two and Zanelli made one free throw. Weiser would savor the win 47-41 and actually smile when handed their third place trophy.
  Scoring: McKie 14, Zanelli 11, Bumgarner 6, Daniel 5, Hamilton 4, Roberts 3, Reyes and Hemphill 2 each.
  Free throws: 13 made of 24 attempts.

Round two Snake River wins 56-49 over Wolverines

  The boys were up against some stiff competition in Snake River for round two of the State tournament Friday, March 2, 2012. Once again, free throws and missed inside shots told the tale as Snake River poured on the heat at the end of the third and never looked back winning 56-49.
  Starters were Tyler Hemphill, Issac Zanelli, Drew McKie, Justin Roberts and Elias Daniel. Weiser controlled the tip but SR scored first. Roberts to McKie for two. Zanelli drained a three from the top of the key. Brock Bumgarner with the bounce pass to Daniel for two. Hemphill sank two free throws but Weiser trailed 11-9. Zanelli to Derek Reyes for two. Reyes muscled in a shot. McKie went basket to basket for the last shot of the first quarter. Snake River led 18-15.
  Snake River scored first to increase their lead in the top of the second quarter. McKie made a free throw and then a jumper. Bumgarner to McKie for the three point shot and the lead 21-20 at 3:58. Daniel to Zanelli for two. Snake River closed to a point with under a minute to go in this first half. Jacoby Miller to Reyes for two through the back door. At the half, Weiser 25, SR 22.
  Snake River came out in the third quarter nailing a three to tie the game. Zanelli had the jumper fall. Hemphill at the free throw line sank his two point shot. At 4:25, SR took the lead and never let it go, 30-29. Zanelli scored off the inbound pass from Hemphill. Bumgarner had the 360 degree move for the banked two. This entire play was set up by the hustle of Reyes who pulled down an offensive rebound while being blanketed by three defenders. Bumgarner took a charge on defense. Daniel putback the "O" rebound. Snake River hit back to back threes with the last just beating the buzzer. This gave them a 40-35 lead with a quarter to play.
  Daniel found McKie for the three to bring Weiser closer. Weiser and SR were both being fouled but the difference was SR made their free throws while Weiser did not. McKie had two rejections in a row. At 5:03, SR was up 47-38. Hemphill made a shot coming out of the time-out. SR built their lead to 13 points, 53-40 with about two minutes to play. McKie hit a shot. Zanelli sank a three and then a two. Weiser trailed 53-47. Zanelli banked home a shot but it was too little too late as SR sealed the win 56-49.
  Scoring: Zanelli 16, McKie 15, Hemphill and Reyes 6 each, Daniel 4 and Bumgarner 2. Weiser made 3 of 7 attempted free throws.
  Next up was Sugar-Salem for the third place trophy.

Round one at State Boys Basketball belongs to Weiser, 49-45 over Kellogg

  Kellogg was supposedly the number one seeded team in the State of Idaho in boys basketball. I say, "Who did they play?" They did not play our Wolverines because then they would have found out just how good Weiser really is. It was round one at the state tournament on Thursday, March 1. Weiser played Kellogg in the nightcap in a great game. Weiser led at every quarter and despite abysmal free throw shooting down the stretch, had enough momentum, tenacity and gutsy play to win 49-45.
  Starters were Drew McKie, Issac Zanelli, Tyler Hemphill, Justin Roberts and Elias Daniel. Kellogg had the early lead on back to back three point shots by their guard. That would be his only points on the night. Zanelli to Daniel at the free throw line for two. Roberts with the baseline two. Roberts made a free throw. Daniel with the drive for the momentary lead 7-6. McKie hit his first shot. Daniel to Derek Reyes on the back door play for two. McKie to Daniel on the give and go for the bucket. The game was tied 13-13 with 1:18 to go in the first quarter.
  Brock Bumgarner leaped out of bounds to save an errant rebound. The ball ended up in Daniel's hands for the shot. Bumgarner again saved the ball from going out of bounds only this time, Daniel was wrapped up after the catch. Not for long as Elias ripped the ball from his defenders grasp to retain possession. Bumgarner would cap the play off that he started with the offensive rebound putback. Weiser led after one, 17-13.
  Weiser squandered their lead early in the second quarter on turnovers. McKie had a rejection but Kellogg had 10 unanswered points. Hemphill knocked down a three to stop the bleeding and to jump start the Wolverines into action. Daniel was fouled draining both shots. McKie drove the key for two. McKie for two more from inside, 26-25. McKie from the top of the key for the long two and the lead once again. Weiser controlled the ball the last minute of play in the first half. Bumgarner yanked down a long rebound, found Reyes all alone under the basket, fired the pass with Reyes finishing the play. At the half, Weiser 30, Kellogg 27.
  Weiser was fired up coming out of the break. Kellogg had the ball first with their shot missing. McKie pulled down the defensive rebound, slung the ball to Daniel on the fastbreak for the soft shot. Daniel putback an "O" rebound to put Weiser up by 7 points. Kellogg took a time-out to regroup. Weiser began their perimeter game which to me seems a huge waste of time but then, I'm not the coach. McKie to Zanelli for the three, 37-30. Kellogg went to a full court defense which appeared to stymie Weiser for a bit. McKie had another rejection. Reyes made the trip to the free throw line making one count. McKie to Reyes who fought for control of the ball, won it and made the shot. With a quarter to play, Weiser 40, Kellogg 36.
  Hemphill went up the ladder to block a high pass in the top of the fourth quarter. The ball careened to Bumgarner who found McKie still in the Weiser half for the bucket. Kellogg was struggling to make a shot and Weiser was struggling to break the press. The clock was our friend at this point. McKie sank two free throws. McKie for yet another rejection as complete madness was going on, on Kellogg's half of the court. Weiser missed a very easy shot maintaining only a four point lead, 44-40. Zanelli to Bumgarner for two. Weiser played better when they were going full tilt. Kellogg was forced to foul and Weiser could not find the cylinder from the free throw line.
  McKie made two free throws and Hemphill one in the closing minutes of the game. It was just enough to win 49-45. Weiser was 9 made free throws of 19 attempts but a win is a win.
  Scoring: Daniel and McKie 14 each, Reyes 7, Bumgarner and Hemphill 4 each, Roberts and Zanelli 3 each.