Badgers advance to semifinals after wild game

Bonners Ferry 62, Gooding 60 

What a basketball game. Full of chaos, confusion and terrific displays, the Bonners Ferry Badgers prevailed and will play in the state semifinals against top-ranked Teton on March 6 at 5 p.m. MST, 4 p.m. PST. 

Facing the Gooding Senators, the quarterfinal was a matchup of two different play styles. The Badgers used their size and three-point prowess to score, while the Senators played the game with tight defense, high-percentage shots and transition play. Bonners Ferry made nine three-pointers, while Gooding made two. Conversely, the Badgers were outscored 34-16 in the paint. 

There were six lead changes during the game, which was still in the balance with less than a second left. Bonners Ferry, as they have throughout the second half of the season, found a way to win. 

The start of the game was all Bonners Ferry, who opened with a 10-0 run to shock their opponents, courtesy of two identical shots in the corner from Jameson Cartwright-Kissee that gave him a team-high six points for the quarter. 

However, the Senators fought back and by the end of the first quarter the score was 14-10 Bonners Ferry.

The second quarter was a higher scoring period, with Gooding at one point taking the lead, before the half ended with the Badgers up 29-27. Ty Schrock stamped his authority on the game in this quarter, in which he scored nine of his 18 total points. 

After the break, Bonners Ferry would have hoped for a quick start to extend their lead. That did not happen, with Senators jumping out to a lead that would grow to as much as eight points as part of a 14-3 run.  

Just when the game looked out of reach, the Badgers started to score again, with Sulay Abubakari and Schrock having seven and six points respectively in the third quarter. With eight minutes left, Gooding led 49-44. 

Head Coach Greg Kissee credited Gooding but said his players handled the pressure well in the fourth. 

“They're a scrappy team,” Kissee said. “They're tough. We knew that. I thought Sulay came out in the fourth quarter and he hit some big shots for us.”

“Peyton and Sulay both made some big free throws for us. We played tough defense. We were picking them up. Shrock played really good defense.”   

In the final period, Sulay Abubakari stepped up. A swished three-pointer in the quarter’s opening seconds cut the deficit to two. Shortly after, he made a free throw. A minute later, Abubakari made two shots from behind the arc while being guarded closely to give the Badgers a five-point lead with five minutes to go. They would not trail again. 

Three quick points from Gooding made the score 56-54 in favor of Bonners Ferry before a long two from Ty Schrock with two minutes left gave the Badgers some cushion. 

After free throws from the Senators, Peyton Hinthorn fired a quick pass to Micah Thomson, who couldn’t finish off the layup. However, Cartwright-Kissee grabbed the loose ball and the ball stayed with Bonners Ferry. Hinthorn then made a tough bank shot from a beautiful Cartwright-Kissee pass, which would be the last shot the Badgers scored. 

A series of free-throw shots occurred, which gave the Senators the ball down just two points with 12 seconds left. Schrock put enough pressure on the opposition ball handler to induce a wild shot, which hit the game clock above the backboard with 0.4 seconds left. After a heave down the court, the game was over. 

Kissee shared his thoughts after the final buzzer sounded.  

“I was just grateful for my team,” Kissee said. “They played hard and never gave up, just kept with it. We were pretty happy as a team. 

The Badgers will play back-to-back days, something they have not done this season.

“We're going to keep doing what we've been doing, but they've definitely been hydrating, eating good and getting rest,” Kissee said. “We've talked about how important it is to take care of yourself. We’ll be ready to go tonight.” 

Teton, who defeated Filer in the quarterfinal, are 21-5 on the season. They are ranked 12 in Idaho. 

Bonners Ferry 14 15 15 18 — 62 

Gooding 10 17 22 11 — 60 

PTS: Abubakari 21, Schrock 18, Hinthorn 12, Cartwright-Kissee 9, Thomson 2 

REB: Abubakari 9, Hinthorn 8, Schrock 6, Cartwright-Kissee 3, Thomson 2

AST: Hinthorn 5, Schrock 2, Abubakari 1 

STL: Allred 1 

3PT: Abubakari 4, Cartwright-Kissee 3, Schrock 2

Badgers win another thriller, advance to championship game

Bonners Ferry 57, Teton 53

“We're going to try to bring it home tomorrow,” Bonners Ferry Head Coach Greg Kisse said. “That's all we can do.”  

Bonners Ferry is in the state championship final after pulling off a massive upset, defeating the top-ranked Teton Timberwolves by four points in a nailbiter. The two-time defending champions are now one game away from making it a three-peat. 

The Badgers will now face the second-ranked Cole Valley Chargers, who have a record of 20-4, on March 7 at 3:50 p.m. MST, 2:50 p.m. PST. The game will be played at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

With twelve seconds left and the Badgers leading by one point, Sulay Abubakari held the ball, ready for an inbounds pass. Abubakari plays tight end on the football team. The play call required a quarterback and he delivered.  

A screen from Ty Schrock allowed Peyton Hinthorn to slip away from his defender. Abubakari wound up a threw an inch-perfect pass across halfcourt to Hinthorn, who was fouled. His two free throws gave the Badgers a three-point lead with ten seconds left that they would not relinquish. 

Bonners Ferry led for the entire game, but this was far from a blowout. The result of the game was only confirmed after Schrock rattled in a free throw to make it a four-point lead with one second left. Throughout, this was a battle between two teams that fought with everything they had to reach the final. 

Free throws were key in the game, with Bonners Ferry making 20 out of 23 attempts. Kissee said it had been an emphasis in practice.  

“Free throws have been huge for us,” Kissee said. “About a month ago, I changed my practices and started doing more free throws in practice.” 

The first quarter was all Bonners Ferry. Teton did not make a single basket as the Badgers flew out to an 11-3 lead. Three minutes into the second quarter, the score was 20-6 and it looked like a rout was going to occur at Eagle High School. However, the Timberwolves fought back and ended the half down nine, 30-21.  

The third quarter saw the lead cut further, with 10 points from Peyton Hinthorn and Sulay Abubakari all the scoring for the Badgers, who led 40-35 with eight minutes to go. 

Kissee said his team’s mentality improved throughout the season. 

“We knew that they were going to make a run on us and come back,” Kissee said. “My team's just been growing with every game and is a lot more composed than they were at the beginning of the year. So we just kept doing what we were doing.”

With one minute and ten seconds left in the semifinal, Risten Allred drove to the basket. Bonners Ferry was up by two points. Instead of attempting a contested layup, he wisely passed the ball back to Abubakari, who took a higher-percentage shot. The ball hit the rim and rolled off, where three Teton Timberwolves players were waiting. None of them got the rebound.  

Peyton Hinthorn somehow tipped the ball up in the air. In the chaos that followed, Abubakari grabbed the ball and went for another shot. This time, he was fouled, and he made it count by making one of his free throws in a momentum swing in favor of the Badgers. 

Two Timberwolves baskets were cancelled out by two free throws each from Schrock and Hinthorn. With ten seconds left, Teton had the ball down three points. Hinthorn came through, causing a wild shot from the Timberwolves that hit off the rim.  

Schrock got the rebound and was fouled. After missing the first shot, the second was made to give Bonners Ferry the win. 

Hinthorn led the team with 23 points and was backed up with 14 from Abubakari and 12 from Schrock, who had four fouls by the third quarter but did not foul out. Abubakari led the team with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in an all-round performance. 

Jameson Cartwright-Kissee showed his three-point prowess, scoring six points with both shots behind the arc. He now has 15 points in the tournament on 41% three-point shooting. Micah Thomson played excellent defense and Risten Allred had a team-high two offensive rebounds. Broden Buckhanan also played well. 

Bonners Ferry 11 19 10 17 — 57 

Teton 3 18 14 18 — 53 

PTS: Hinthorn 23, Abubakari 14, Schrock 12, Cartwright-Kissee 6, Thomson 2 

REB: Abubakari 8, Allred 4, Hinthorn 3, Schrock 2, Buckhanan 1, Cartwright-Kissee 1 

AST: Abubakari 2, Thomson 1, Allred 1 

STL: Abubakari 3, Hinthorn 2 

BLK: Hinthorn 2 

3PT: Cartwright-Kissee 2, Abubakari 2

Badgers finish second at state

Cole Valley Christian 71, Bonners Ferry 35

NAMPA — It may not have ended the way the team hoped, but it was a terrific run as the fifth-seeded Bonners Ferry Badgers finished as state 4A runners-up following a 71-35 loss to second-seeded Cole Valley Christian of Meridian at the Ford Idaho Center on Saturday.

In a year filled with close wins and displays of resilience, Bonners Ferry reached the state final after narrow wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals before falling at the final hurdle to a near-perfect Cole Valley team. They have now reached four consecutive championship games, winning two. 

Junior Peyton Hinthorn, who scored a team-high 14 points, said he was proud the team returned to the championship. 

“Losing five seniors last year was tough, but I’m proud that we got back here,” Hinthorn said. “Not a lot of people thought we were going to get back to the state championship and we did. It’s just unfortunate that things didn’t go our way.” 

Junior Ty Schrock, who averaged over 11 points in the state tournament, said there was motivation this season to prove doubters wrong. 

“We came out with something to prove this year,” Schrock said. “We got back to the championship, so I’m proud of that.” 

Bonners Ferry finished 15-9.

Bonners Ferry head coach Greg Kissee, in his first year leading the program, spoke about his expectations when he took over. 

“I was excited to take the job, excited to work with these kids,” Kissee said. “I knew it would be a tough year. We lost five seniors, but we also lost the state player of the year three years in a row.”   

“But I know what we have here. I was excited to take over, keep things going and we made it back to the championship. We wanted to win tonight; we thought we could.” 

It did not always look like the Badgers would have success this year. Following a 4-6 start to the season, the team improved significantly during the second half of its campaign. 

The Badgers entered the final with eight consecutive wins, including victories against Gooding and top-ranked Teton in the state tournament. 

“We’ve come a long way from where we were two or three months ago,” Kissee said.        

The Chargers were led by Cooper Kollman and Madden Compton, who each scored 18 points. 

A tight half-court press from Cole Valley was key throughout the game, leading to 15 Badger turnovers and several low-percentage shots.  

“Their press hurt us getting into our offense,” Kissee said. “They’re a tough team. They’re coached well. We didn’t play the way we wanted to, but these guys have fought all year.”   

Three-point shooting was another major difference in the game. The Chargers went 10 for 23 from behind the arc, while Bonners Ferry finished 0 for 14. 

Cole Valley also shot more than 50% from the field, compared to 31% for the Badgers. 

Second-year Cole Valley Christian coach Leif Karlberg praised the opposing team. 

“Those guys are winners and there’s winning in their DNA,” Karlberg said. “They’re going to start calling it the Bonners Ferry Invitational if they keep doing it because those guys play hard and they play the right way. I think they’ve got a lot to be proud of.” 

For senior starters Sulay Abubakari and Micah Thomson, their Badger basketball careers have come to an end. 

Abubakari, one of Bonners Ferry’s key players this season, finished with 11 points in the final. 

“I put in a lot of work in the summer,” Abubakari said. “I knew I was going to have to pick up a lot of the slack.” 

Bonners Ferry    12    3    11    9    —    35 

C.V. Christian    19    17    22    13    —    71 

BONNERS FERRY — Schrock 5, Hart 0, Buckhanan 0, Hinthorn 14, Allred 2, Scarborough 0, Abubakari 11, Thomson 1, Cartwright-Kissee 2. Totals 14-45 7-17 35. 

COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN — Bieri 2, Hughes 5, Mensonides 6, Guray 0, Sautebin 2, Krogh 8, Kollman 18, Compton 18, Long 2, Hamby 1, Minegar 0, Frass 9. Totals 27-53 7-11 71.

    Bonners Ferry junior guard Peyton Hinthorn attempts to shoot over Cole Valley Christian freshman guard Soren Fraas during the state 4A boys basketball championship game.

    Sulay Abubakari drives to the basket while being closely guarded.

    Landon Hart (5) jumps and Micah Thomson (far right) runs by a referee as the Badger bench celebrates.