MERIDIAN — Ten minutes after Marsh Valley’s first-round win over Filer in the opening round of the Class 3A Boys State Basketball Tournament Thursday night, Eagles’ guard Justis Whitworth sported a pair of cowboy boots and jeans.
It was a fitting choice of shoes for Whitworth after his team walked all over Filer 61-43 to advance to the semifinals.
Whitworth scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, providing both the physical and emotional spark for the Eagles.
“I think we are super jacked to be here at state,” Whitworth said. “And our main way to win games against teams playing zone is to play as a team and attack the boards—and we did a great job of that tonight.”
Sixth-seeded Marsh Valley (16-10), which avenged a 57-49 loss to Filer earlier this season, will face second-ranked and last year’s state runner-up Bonner’s Ferry (20-3) in the semifinals Friday.
The Eagles played like the higher seeded team from the opening tip, but struggled early to build a big lead. They remained in command, but watched their lead dwindle to 21-19 with two minutes and forty seconds remaining in the half.
But Marsh Valley responded, closing the half on a 7-2 run thanks to some sharp outside shooting by Keaton Belnap.
The Eagles’ momentum carried over into the second half, opening the third quarter on a 9-2 run. And with three minutes remaining in the quarter, Marsh Valley built a 42-27 lead − its largest of the game to that point.
But Filer fought back with a furious rally, reeling off the final eight points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 42-35 heading into the final frame.
However, Whitworth helped Marsh Valley restore its 15-point lead and then some, as the Eagles opened the quarter with a 12-4 run. After Whitworth grabbed a big rebound that led to a bucket by Kaden Bullock, Whitworth pumped his fists and then pointed at the exuberant crowd before Filer called a timeout.
Instead of the timeout curbing the scoring, Filer turned the ball over and then Whitworth delivered the decisive blow, drilling a 3-pointer, one of two he made on the night.
“I’m kind of a fiery person, so when I get a chance to get fired up, I go for it,” Whitworth said.
Bullock added 16 points and led the Eagles in rebounding with nine, while Belnap and Cody Dunn chipped in with eight points each.
Karsen LeMoyne and Kaleb Gillett each scored 11 points to pace Filer (17-4), which will face district rival Kimberly in the consolation round Friday.
“They got a little momentum going and knocked down a couple of shots,” Filer coach Rob Anderson said. “The first time we played (Marsh Valley), we made a few more of those shots and they missed a few more. But this was a game of runs. And they definitely got a few more runs than we did.”
Marsh Valley coach Chris Ball, who’s in his first season with the Eagles, was clear about why his team played dominant basketball in the win.
“We executed our offense really well and played unselfishly,” Ball said. “And I’m really proud of the way they did that tonight. We’re just having fun.”
Ball hopes to maintain that same intensity his team played with in the opening around when it faces a veteran Bonner’s Ferry team that includes returning 3A Player of the Year, Asher Williams.
“We’re not a big team, so we play fast and we play hard,” Ball said. “And we’re very aggressive. And the key for us is to playing unselfish basketball. We don’t care who scores. We just have to play really unselfish and need to execute under pressure.”
Whitworth concurred.
“We just need to play as a team and work hard on the boards and we’ll get it handled.”
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