Wolverines top league rival Trojans 56-43 at home

The Weiser boys basketball team moved into second place in the SRV Conference after handily beating the Homedale Trojans 56-43 at home on Saturday.
 The afternoon game at Tom Falash Gymnasium was the second time these two SRV Conference teams have met this season. Weiser has won both games, although the first meeting on Jan. 14 was a razor-thin 47-46 victory for the Wolverines at Homedale.
 With the win, Weiser’s record in the SRV Conference improves to 3-2 (10-8 overall), one spot behind the undefeated Fruitland Grizzlies, who sit in first place with a 5-0 conference record (17-1 overall).
 For the second game in less than a week. Weiser’s leading scorer, Brett Spencer, put up impressive numbers, contributing 21 points, including five 3 pointers, in the win. He had a season-high 28 points last Wednesday  against Vale.
 Against Homedale, Weiser controlled the pace early, choosing to slow the game down and pass the ball around for the best shots. Both teams appeared to be evenly matched in size. Neither team was on fire shooting the ball and the score at the end of the first quarter reflected that. Weiser had a slight lead with the score 8-6.
 Homedale managed to tie the game briefly at 8-8 early in the second period before Spencer hit a basket to put Weiser back out in front 10-8.
 In just a few minutes, an easy inside basket by Nate Lattin and another basket for Spencer gave Weiser the lead at 14-8.
 The second quarter was a big one for the Wolverines, who put 17 points on the scoreboard, while a tenacious, pressure defense didn’t give many easy shots and held the Trojans to just two points in the period.  
 Weiser played a well-rounded first half in all facets of the game – passing, shooting, rebounding. Tim Reed put up two points and Caleb Harris had a putback for two points. Spencer found his range and hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The first half ended with Weiser in control and the score 25-8.
 Led by senior Daniel Uranga, the Trojans found some offensive success in the third period. But the Wolverines matched the Trojans basket for basket and led by 20 points at the end of the third period 39-19.
 The Trojans started hitting baskets at the same time the Wolverines cooled off in the fourth quarter. Three 3-pointers and a bucket by Homedale narrowed Weiser’s lead to nine points at 41-32 with 4:35 left in the game. That’s as close as it got with the fourth-quarter surge by the Trojans.
 Weiser senior Angel Magana hit two free throws and a 2-point basket for a quick four points to increase the lead to 47-32.   
 Uranga was about all the offense the Trojans had in the fourth quarter. A competitor until the final buzzer, he hit three 3-pointers in the period, with the last one with a minute left in the game. It was too little too late as Weiser held on for the 56-43 win.
 The Wolverines made seven 3-pointers and eight 2-point baskets. Another 15 points were earned at the free-throw line. Weiser went 15-for-18 at the charity stripe.
 Brett Spencer led the Wolverines in scoring with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, followed by Ande Jensen, who contributed 11 points. Angel Magana hit a lot of free throws in the game and ended up with 9 points. Tim Reed and Justin Estes each scored four points. Caleb Harris picked up three points, and Nate Lattin collected two points.
Weiser 61, Vale 50
Jan 29 at Vale
 In between league games last week, Weiser traveled to Vale for a nonconference contest against the Vikings. The Wolverines earned the 61-50 win after pulling away in the second half of what turned out to be a competitive game.
 Weiser sophomore Brett Spencer was on fire shooting from the floor. He went 9-for-15 on 2-point baskets and 3-for-7 on 3-pointers for a season-high 28 points.
 Weiser led at halftime, but not by much, and Vale was not going anywhere. The Vikings kept pace and only trailed by 2 points at the  end of the first half, 27-25.
 The Wolverines were able to add to their lead in the third quarter. Weiser outscored Vale 18-15 in the quarter and started the fourth quarter in front 47-40.
 In addition to Spencer, Weiser had a couple of other scorers in double digits, including Justin Estes, who had his best night of the season with 14 points, including hitting 2-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line.
 Weiser once again outscored Vale in the fourth quarter 16-10 and pulled away for the win 61-50.
 The Wolverines shot 15-for-39 on 2-point fieldgoals for 38 percent and 8-for-20 on 3-point shots for 40 percent. At the free throw line, Weiser made 7 of 13 attempts.
 Spencer led all players with 28 points, followed by Estes with 14 points and Ande Jensen collected 11 points. Nate Lattin contributed 5 points and Tim Reed scored 3 points.