owyhee avalanche

Pesky Trojans play No. 1 tough in opener

The public-address announcer screwed up his pregame introduction, but by the end of Thursday's opening-round state tournament game, everyone knew who Walter Almaraz was.
The quizzical look the Homedale High School junior shot at the scoring table before the Trojans' 3A Real Dairy Shootout boys' basketball state tournament game against top-ranked Priest River was only the first of several spot-on attempts.
A cold-shooting spurt stretching across the last of first quarter and the start of the second, however, helped the Spartans wriggle off the hook with a 62-51 victory over the Trojans.
"I think my kids know (that) they didn't leave anything out," HHS fourth-year coach Kenny Thomas said. "They left it all on the floor and gave it their all."
Homedale (13-11) returns to Meridian High School on Friday for a 3 p.m. elimination game against old foe Filer (17-5). The Wildcats, who ended the Trojans' season a year ago in a state play-in game, lost their first-round contest Thursday against defending state champion Shelley, 44-32.
"(This game) will give them confidence going into tomorrow," Thomas said. "And tomorrow we have, I don't think it's a rivalry, but we seem to run into Filer here in the last couple years.
"We're more used to playing them. We've seen those kids, most of them, and we're used to them."
Almaraz's three first-half three-point goals helped upstart Homedale stay in the contest against the Spartans, who were making their third appearance at State in as many years. The junior hit a running jump shot for a 12-10 Homedale lead midway through the opening quarter, but then the rim iced over for the Trojans.
"I think late in the first -- during that stretch -- I think we rushed our shots," Thomas said. "I don't know exactly why that was. We weren't really shooting in rhythm like we were early in the game."
As Homedale missed a dozen shots in a row and endured a 1-for-17 ice age from the field, Priest River took control with a 20-4 run. Senior forward Jake Weimer converted a three-point play to give the Spartans (20-3) a 30-15 lead four minutes, three seconds before halftime.
But Almaraz had the answer in his sweet, net-searing shot. He hit three treys in the span of two minutes, nine seconds to pull Homedale within seven points, 33-26, at the break.
"He's a shooter. He can create shots and he can put up shots in a hurry, and he got us back in the game," Thomas said. "When he's on, he's on."
Almaraz hit another three-pointer 62 seconds after halftime as Homedale got within six points, 35-29. He finished with five three-pointers (two off the state tournament record) and 19 points.
He comprised the only consistent counter to Weimer, who scored 20 points in the first half with a deadly seven-foot turnaround shot in the lane and a keen eye from the foul line.
"He's the best player we've seen all year," Thomas said. "He's just tough."
But with senior Ryan Ryska's harassment at the point leading Homedale's defense in the second half, the Trojans bottled the Spartans' 6-foot-4 senior forward. Weimer achieved only seven points -- all from the free-throw line -- in the final 16 minutes. He did finish with 16 rebounds, only six fewer than the entire Homedale squad.
"I wouldn't necessarily say it was their height but their length," Thomas said in explaining the Spartans' dominance on the glass. "It was their length and athletic ability. Not only were they long but they were athletic.
"When they're that long and athletic it's tough to get the ball."
The banged-up Ryska was Homedale's heartbeat with five assists, two steals and six points, including his customary gut-check drive to the rim for a lightning-quick layup response to a Priest River bucket in the second half. He also drew a five-second call against Spartans point guard Jaden Barrett 2 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
"He kind of takes pride in that, and he's going to get after it," Thomas said. "He loves defense, and he loves getting his teammates the ball and that's a big part of point guard. And I never have to question his heart."
Barrett got his revenge 30 second later with a long-distance three-pointer that sparked the Spartans' final surge. Max Salesky, along with Weimer and Eric Holbrook part of Priest River's big three that Thomas said the Trojans had to slow, hit a 21-foot three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to push the Spartans' lead back to double digits, 46-35. Six of Salesky's 10 points came from beyond the arc, while Holbrook scored nine points.
"I knew it was going to be a battle, and I knew we had to shut down two of those guys (Weimer, Salesky and Holbrook)," Thomas said. "I really felt like we could compete with anybody on this level. They shot the ball well, and that kid's (Weimer) tough."

-JPB