Wolverines end SRV with 28-point win over Grizzlies

On Friday, Feb. 9 the Weiser Wolverine boys hosted the Fruitland Grizzlies for their senior night where they honored five athletes, Colby Walker, Jack Shirts, Finn Dolton, Carter Jensen, and Braden Phillips. 

 Weiser and Fruitland faced a crucial game. Weiser at 5-4 and Fruitland at 4-5. A win for Weiser would secure them third place outright for the SRV District tournament. A loss would mean counting the point spread of the two games between the teams.    

 In a near-packed house, the Wolverines put an explanation point on their final regular season game as they went up by 30 points in the fourth quarter sending the game into a running clock. With a 73 to 45 win, Weiser ended the season in third place. 

 Senior Colby Walker scored first with a strong rebound putback 40 seconds into the contest. 

 Fellow senior Carter Jensen added 2 more from free throws.

 Fruitland took the lead with a bucket and three free throws off two trips to the line. Two and a half minutes in the score was Weiser 4, Fruitland 5. This would be the final time the Grizzlies would lead. 

 Kolin Cook helped Weiser spread out the scoring by making Fruitland’s defense guard against the drive to the bucket while also keeping track of Weiser’s 3-point shooters on the outside. 

 With about 3 minutes to go in the first, Josh Mizar playing heads-up basketball, flew out of bounds to save a ball turned, and sent it bouncing off a Fruitland player lying on the ground out of bounds. This set up a baseline out-of-bounds play, where Shirts made a 3 in the corner. 

 At the end of the first, Weiser led 14 to 8.

 Early in the second, Fruitland reduced Weiser’s lead to 4. After a couple of minutes, the Wolverines took control quickly pushing points. Shirts scored the first 7 points in the second for Weiser. After a Cook steal and drive into the paint where he kicked the ball out to Shirts at the top for a 3 pointer.

 In the final 3 minutes of the half, Mizar had a 3 in the corner, Shirts made a lay-in in offense, and then Shirts had an assist as Cook made a 3 from the top. With 30 seconds to go, Mizar had a strong rebound and passed it to an open Shirts for 2. Then right before the buzzer, Dolton picked up a nice rebound putback giving Weiser a 10-point lead going into the locker room, 35 to 25.

 In the third quarter, it took the Wolverines about 3 and a half minutes to settle and get the ball to start falling. Once it did, it was firehose where Weiser scored 21 points while holding Fruitland to just 10.

 Jensen started it rolling with the first 2 points with a fake and a 1-dribble jump shot. With just over 2 minutes to go, Mizar sunk a 3-pointer, putting Weiser up 49 to 34. 

 After a bucket near the elbow from Cook, and free throws from Shirts, Mizar, and Dolton, Weiser held a 57 to 35 point lead as they finished out the third.

 The Grizzlies scored first in the fourth, but the Wolverines answered with Dolton making a baseline drive as he found Shirts open on the opposite block for 2. Shirts reciprocated on Weiser’s next possession as he drove into the key and found Dolton cutting hard for a lay-in.     

 Weiser continued to push hard securing the running clock with 2 minutes remaining in the contest after Cook picked up an assist with a Mizar 3. Weiser lead 73 to 43. 

 Fruitland would go on to add 2 points before the clock ran out. 

 Weiser walked away with a strong statement and a 73 to 45 win over Fruitland.

 The Wolverines hosted the Payette Pirates on Tuesday, Feb. 13 in the first round of the SRV District Tournament, no score was available at the time of printing. 

 Cook led Weiser with 24 points and Shirts added 21. Mizar had 14, Dolton with 8, Jensen had 4, and Walker had 2 points.

 

Scores at the end of quarters:

Weiser Fruitland

1st: 14 8

2nd: 35 25     

3rd: 57 35

4th: 73 45