owyhee avalanche

Bench players lead Trojans to consolation crown

In the biggest game of the season, it was Homedale High School's unheralded players who brought home the hardware.
Reserve post player Trevor Gibson dominated the backboards in the first half, and backup wing Mario Gonzalez shook off pockets of inconsistency to hit key shots as the Trojans' boys' basketball team collected the consolation trophy in the 3A Real Dairy Shootout state tournament.
Homedale (15-11) wrapped up its first State appearance since 2004 with an impressive 49-40 victory over arch-nemesis Fruitland at Meridian High School on Saturday.
Gibson scored seven points and grabbed seven defensive rebounds in the first half as Homedale controlled throughout the game.
Gibson finished with 11 boards -- 10 on Fruitland's end -- and seven points on 3-for-5 shooting.
Gonzalez led all scorers with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and a 3-for-3 showing at the foul line. He also had seven rebounds as Homedale held a more than 2-to-1 edge on Fruitland's backboard.
The Grizzlies (17-8) struggled throughout and never led. Fruitland shot 25 percent from the field (15-for-60) and was only 1-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc.
Homedale didn't fare much better from three-point territory (1-for-12), but hit 52.8 percent (19-for-36) elsewhere from the floor.
For more on the Trojans' 2-1 performance at the state tournament, read Wednesday's edition of The Owyhee Avalanche.

-JPB