Fouls costly for Weiser in 60-39 loss to Parma

A three-game winning streak ended for the Weiser boys basketball team on Saturday in Parma as the Panthers played tough defense and took advantage of 16 turnovers by the Wolverines to get the conference win 60-39.

 The Wolverines were called for an uncharacteristic 19 fouls in the game, more than double the Panthers’ nine fouls. Parma made Weiser pay at the charity stripe, hitting 22 free throws out of 25 attempts.  

 It was the second time this season these two teams have met on the basketball court. Weiser earned the win at home on Jan. 10 against the visiting Panthers. 

 With the loss, Weiser and Parma are tied in the standings at 3-2 in the Snake River Valley Conference. Parma has the better overall record at 16-2 with Weiser’s overall record at 11-7.

 In the five-team SRV conference, Fruitland sits at the top of the standings with a 4-0 league record. Weiser meets Fruitland again on Wednesday at home.

 In Saturday’s game, the overall shooting stats from the floor for both teams were not great but still fairly even. Weiser shot 16-for-44 on fieldgoals, while Parma shot 17-for-41. Both teams hit four 3-pointers.

 Weiser’s top scorer Braden Bumgarner led the Wolverines with 13 points, but he was ice cold from beyond the 3-point line, going 0-for-9. From the floor, Bumgarner shot 6-for-17 on fieldgoals.

 Other Wolverines also struggled with shooting. Brett Spencer shot 1-for-7 on fieldgoals and had three points in the game. Angel Magana went 1-for-5 from the floor and scored two points. Ande Jensen hit 3-for-8 and had eight points.

 Rounding out the scoring, Nate Lattin contributed five points, followed by Justin Estes with four points. Tim Reed and Hayden Wilson-Palmer each scored two points. 

Weiser 61, Homedale 43

 Jan. 24 at Weiser

 Weiser played two conference games during the past week, losing to Parma on Saturday after picking up a win at home on Thursday against Homedale 61-43. 

 The Wolverines couldn’t put away a scrappy Trojans team led by the hardcharging Mason Kincheloe, who scored 18 points, until the second half of Thursday night’s game. 

 Weiser coach Brad Adolfson said the halftime talk to the players focused on getting stops on the defensive end of the floor. The Wolverines keyed in certain opposing players with the intent of taking away the easy shots. 

 “We followed our gameplan a little bit better as far as knowing their personnel. I didn’t think we did a real good job in the first half. But in the second half, it was much, much improved, so I am really happy with that,” he said.

 Justin Estes put Weiser’s first two points on the scoreboard, followed by two more from Braden Bumgarner, who pulled up for an open jumpshot.

 Bumgarner put Weiser out in front 8-6 for the first time. A nice spin move to the basket added two more points to keep Weiser in the lead 10-8.

 The Trojans took the early lead in the first period after Kincheloe hit a basket and was fouled for the three-point play. Teammate and guard Carson Brown added two points and Homedale was in front early 13-10.

 A bucket by Ande Jensen was followed by a steal by Bumgarner to give Weiser the ball. At the buzzer, Nate Lattin hit a 3-pointer and Weiser was back in front at the end of the first period 15-3.

 Halfway through the second period, Weiser started to pull away. Bumgarner scored two points, followed by a nice floater by Isaiah Daniel in the paint to give the Wolverines their biggest lead of the game at 25-18. 

 Weiser hit a couple fieldgoals before halftime, including a jumpshot by Bumgarner, who made a move to get open and hit for two points. He had 12 points in the first half. At halftime, Weiser was in front by six points at 29-23.

 Brett Spencer started the scoring for Weiser in the third period. Tim Reed, who had his best game of the season with 12 points, was on the receiving end of an inside pass and put the ball up for two points. A 3-point basket by Spencer pushed Weiser’s lead to 36-23 with 4:55 left in the third period.

 Justin Estes and Ande Jensen each nailed their first 3-pointers in the third period as Weiser took control of the game and the Trojans couldn’t get decent shots. At the end of the third period, Weiser was in front 47-30, a big deficit for Homedale to make up with eight minutes left in the game. It was Weiser’s best quarter of the game with 18 points.

 Homedale’s Carson Brown hit a 3-pointer to narrow Weiser’s lead to 13 points, but that’s as close as the Trojans were able to get.

 Weiser’s Tim Reed was a force in the final period with three baskets in the fourth quarter. He scored and Caleb Harris scored quick baskets to make it 59-40. Nathaniel Mink came in off the bench to hit one bucket and got a cheer from the hometown fans. The game ended with Weiser in front 61-43.

 In all 11 Wolverines scored in the contest. Weiser won the battle of the boards with 36 rebounds to Homedale’s 20. 

 Weiser shot better from the floor, hitting 27-for-51 in total fieldgoals, a little better than 50 percent. Homedale went 18-for-52.