Weiser plays hard in 56-40 loss to undefeated Fruitland

Weiser lost to undefeated Fruitland 56-40 on Friday night, but the scrappy Wolverines made the Grizzlies work for the win, and the final score was closer than the first time they met this year.
 Weiser traveled to Fruitland for the matchup between the top two teams in the SRV Conference. It could be a preview of the district tournament finals coming up at TVCC later this month.
 Weiser played tough all four quarters against a talented Fruitland team that excels at running the fast break and getting points off transition.
 With an advantage in height, the Grizzlies also were strong on the boards and were able to get second shots and put-backs for points.
 Fruitland got out to the early lead with six quick points. Weiser senior Ande Jensen answered with two 3-pointers to tie the game at 6-6 halfway through the first quarter.
 The Grizzlies high-powered offense was able to move the ball around with precision and get it inside for easy points. Fruitland began to build a lead and was up 16-6 over Weiser at the end of the first quarter.
 Despite the early deficit, Weiser wasn’t going to let Fruitland run away with the game. Jensen hit another 3-pointer and Nate Lattin stole the ball and sprinted to the basket for a layup and two points to keep pace.
 Fruitland wasn’t a big 3-point shooting team. No. 14 Tate Hartman hit one in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies shot a poor 2-for-18 from beyond the 3-point line. Their scoring came from inside passes under the basket. They shot 18-for-31 for 58 percent on 2-point baskets.
 Fruitland is the kind of team, as Weiser found out, that makes their opponents pay for any mistakes. At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies had increased their lead to 32-14.
 Weiser nibbled away at Fruitland’s lead with a basket by Brett Spencer. Jensen hit another 3-pointer as the third quarter ended to cut the deficit. The third quarter was Weiser’s best with 14 points. At the end of the third quarter Fruitland held a 17-point lead with the score 45-28.
 The Grizzlies ran a fast-paced offense all four quarters. Fruitland held a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter, the lowest-scoring quarter of the game for the Grizzlies with 11 points.
 Weiser was able to keep Fruitland in sight, narrowing the Grizzlies’ lead to 16 points with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter but could not make up the deficit, despite running hard until the final buzzer.
 Fruitland’s balanced offense was led in scoring by Hyrum Lindsay, who had 19 points on the evening. A total of eight Grizzlies put points on the scoreboard.
 Weiser shot 35 percent from the floor on 2-pointers, hitting nine out of 26 attempts, and went 5-for-19 on 3-pointers for 26 percent.
 Ande Jensen led the Wolverines in scoring with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Brett Spencer and Nate Lattin each contributed seven points. Justin Estes and Angel Magana each scored three points. Caleb Harris, Tim Reed and Nate Turner each had two points.
 Weiser’s final regular season game is Wednesday (Feb. 12) at home against Payette. The game is also senior night for the Wolverines.
Weiser 55, Parma 47
Feb. 4 at Parma
 The Wolverines jumped out to an early 18-point lead in the first quarter against Parma at the Panthers’ gym and held on to win the game 55-47 on Feb. 4.
 Weiser was comfortably out in front of Parma 23-5 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to the long-range shooting of senior Ande Jensen, who hit three 3-pointers in the period. Jensen had his best night of the season against the Panthers and led the Wolverines in scoring with 16 points.
 The two SRV Conference rivals have split their games this season, with Parma winning the first meeting by a point 40-39 on Jan. 17 and Weiser getting the win at Parma last week.
 Nate Turner and Tim Reed each hit a couple of baskets in the second quarter to keep the pressure on Parma. At the end of the first half, Parma had narrowed the lead by outscoring Weiser in the second quarter but the Wolverines were still out in front 35-23.
 Both teams scored nine points in the third quarter, which ended with the score 44-32. Parma outscored Weiser by two points in the fourth quarter, but they needed a huge offensive effort to catch the Wolverines and didn’t get it.
 Weiser’s shooting percentage was outstanding from 2-point range at 58 percent for the game. The Wolverines went 19-for-32 on fieldgoals and 5-for-15 on 3-pointers for 33 percent.
 Ande Jensen drained four 3-pointers for 12 of his 16 points and led Weiser in scoring. Brett Spencer contributed 12 points, followed by Tim Reed with seven points. Angel Magana and Justin Estes each scored four points and Nate Lattin added two points in the winning effort.