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Mar. 6—MERIDIAN — Lewiston's Royce Fisher scored the second-most points in a single game in his career, 34, as the top-seeded Bengals topped the eigth-seeded Burley Bobcats 60-55 in the Idaho Class 5A boys basketball state tournament's first round Thursday at Rocky Mountain High School.
Fisher scored more than half the Bengals' points in the five-point victory.
Lewiston coach Brooks Malm said that he was happy with how the team played.
"Really proud of our guys for being able to hang tough and face some adversity, have some resiliency (and) come away with a win," Malm said.
About Fisher's near-career high day, he said, "I don't know (about the near career-high), but I'm happy he's on our team."
Fisher's big game
The second and third quarters belonged to Fisher.
He scored nine of the Bengals' 14 points in the second quarter and 16 of Lewiston's 21 points in the third quarter. Fisher said a dunk early in the second quarter started his momentum.
Fisher shot 11-of-22 from the field, including 10-of-15 from two-point range. He made one 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and shot 11-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Fisher credited his inside game for the majority of his points. He said he feels like he has taken a step forward on his inside game and that is why he was able to score so many points.
"It was awesome," Fisher said. "My teammates were able to get open. We were able to execute what we needed to, and I got buckets."
He said he was able to draw so many fouls because when he drove, Burley collapsed on him.
"Then they usually hacked me or fouled me," Fisher said. "And I just needed to put (the foul shots) in."
Fisher also finished with a game-high eight rebounds and dished out one assist.
Bengals stay poised
Lewiston held the lead from the first minute, jumping to an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bengals (21-3) kept Burley (14-12) at a distance and used the help from Fisher's big quarter, along with some Jordan Walker free throws and a few points from Andrew Haines. Lewison led 28-20 at halftime.
The third quarter was basically all Fisher with a few points from Haines and Blaze Hepburn sprinkled in. Lewiston held a healthy 49-40 lead heading into the fourth.
The Bengals led by five-or-more points throughout the majority of the game until the Bobcats made it a three-point game with 4 minutes, 12 seconds to go in regulation.
Then a three-point play from Fisher, where he drove to the basket and was bodied by a Bobcat defender before making the bucket and ensuing free throw, created a spark.
Brady Ruldoph followed that up with one of the three 3-pointers the Bengals made all game to put the game out of reach at 57-50 with 2:16 left.
Lewiston closed it out with some free throws for its final three points of the game.
Malm said that offensive sequence, along with some huge defensive stops, helped the Bengals win the game.
"Those were probably the biggest plays," Malm said. "I mean, to be in that moment, we had to get a bunch of stops. And I thought that we did a good job. I thought Mason Way was really good. I thought Drew Haines did a good job of rebounding. DJ Wilkerson gave us a good lift there in the first half.
"So I thought that we were good defensively throughout the game. The biggest offensive plays of the night were those 3s there in the second half. I mean, those were huge for us to be able to win."
Malm said that when the game got close, relying on players from last year who have experience in the state tournament was key.
"Just having the poise ... just being able to have the experience last year playing in this game (helped)," Malm said. "I think that helped some of those older guys. A lot of these guys were on last year's team. So the message in the huddle throughout the whole game from our guys is, 'We're gonna win, we're gonna win, we're gonna win.' So I thought that they did a really good job of maintaining their composure and staying the course."
Semifinals on deck
The Bengals advanced to a semifinal game against the Columbia Wildcats of Nampa at 11 a.m. Pacific today at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. The winner of that game will advance to Saturday's state championship.
Malm said the team was happy with the win, but said that the focus shifted to the next game right after the victory.
"We're excited, but we're here to try to win this thing," Malm said. "We're not just happy, go lucky, happy to be here. We want to continue to play. We've given ourselves a great opportunity to play in the state semifinals, so we're going to make sure that we do everything we can in our power to take advantage of that opportunity tomorrow."
BURLEY (14-12)
Teegan Schreiter 2 0-1 4, Phoenix Castro 0 0-0 0, Cove Thompson 2 1-2 6, Jake Seely 1 0-0 2, Jacob Redder 2 0-0 5, Nash Gillette 8 2-2 21, Jayden Garcia 0 0-0 0, Ryker Page 5 0-0 10, Fields Bangerter 0 0-0 0, Ty Shirley 0 0-0 0, Matthew Coats 0 0-0 0, Qentin Alvarado 0 0-0 0, Joseph Kloepfer 3 1-2 7, Trevor Jones 0 0-0 0, Krew Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-7 55.
LEWISTON (21-3)
Zavier McFee 0 0-0 0, Royce Fisher 11 11-15 34, DJ Wilkerson 0 0-0 0, Jordan Walker 1 3-5 6, Peyton Walker 0 0-0 0, Andrew Haines 3 0-0 6, Brady Rudolph 2 1-2 6, Blaze Hepburn 3 0-1 6, Carson Henson 0 0-0 0, Noah Schumaker 0 0-0 0, William Bobeck 0 0-0 0, Braylon Howland 0 0-0 0, Krew DeGroot 0 0-0 0, Mason Way 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 17-25 60.
Burley 6 14 20 15—55
Lewiston 11 17 21 11—60
3-point goals — Gillette 3, C. Thompson, Redder, Fisher, J. Walker, Rudolph.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
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Fisher scored more than half the Bengals' points in the five-point victory.
Lewiston coach Brooks Malm said that he was happy with how the team played.
"Really proud of our guys for being able to hang tough and face some adversity, have some resiliency (and) come away with a win," Malm said.
About Fisher's near-career high day, he said, "I don't know (about the near career-high), but I'm happy he's on our team."
Fisher's big game
The second and third quarters belonged to Fisher.
He scored nine of the Bengals' 14 points in the second quarter and 16 of Lewiston's 21 points in the third quarter. Fisher said a dunk early in the second quarter started his momentum.
Fisher shot 11-of-22 from the field, including 10-of-15 from two-point range. He made one 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and shot 11-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Fisher credited his inside game for the majority of his points. He said he feels like he has taken a step forward on his inside game and that is why he was able to score so many points.
"It was awesome," Fisher said. "My teammates were able to get open. We were able to execute what we needed to, and I got buckets."
He said he was able to draw so many fouls because when he drove, Burley collapsed on him.
"Then they usually hacked me or fouled me," Fisher said. "And I just needed to put (the foul shots) in."
Fisher also finished with a game-high eight rebounds and dished out one assist.
Bengals stay poised
Lewiston held the lead from the first minute, jumping to an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bengals (21-3) kept Burley (14-12) at a distance and used the help from Fisher's big quarter, along with some Jordan Walker free throws and a few points from Andrew Haines. Lewison led 28-20 at halftime.
The third quarter was basically all Fisher with a few points from Haines and Blaze Hepburn sprinkled in. Lewiston held a healthy 49-40 lead heading into the fourth.
The Bengals led by five-or-more points throughout the majority of the game until the Bobcats made it a three-point game with 4 minutes, 12 seconds to go in regulation.
Then a three-point play from Fisher, where he drove to the basket and was bodied by a Bobcat defender before making the bucket and ensuing free throw, created a spark.
Brady Ruldoph followed that up with one of the three 3-pointers the Bengals made all game to put the game out of reach at 57-50 with 2:16 left.
Lewiston closed it out with some free throws for its final three points of the game.
Malm said that offensive sequence, along with some huge defensive stops, helped the Bengals win the game.
"Those were probably the biggest plays," Malm said. "I mean, to be in that moment, we had to get a bunch of stops. And I thought that we did a good job. I thought Mason Way was really good. I thought Drew Haines did a good job of rebounding. DJ Wilkerson gave us a good lift there in the first half.
"So I thought that we were good defensively throughout the game. The biggest offensive plays of the night were those 3s there in the second half. I mean, those were huge for us to be able to win."
Malm said that when the game got close, relying on players from last year who have experience in the state tournament was key.
"Just having the poise ... just being able to have the experience last year playing in this game (helped)," Malm said. "I think that helped some of those older guys. A lot of these guys were on last year's team. So the message in the huddle throughout the whole game from our guys is, 'We're gonna win, we're gonna win, we're gonna win.' So I thought that they did a really good job of maintaining their composure and staying the course."
Semifinals on deck
The Bengals advanced to a semifinal game against the Columbia Wildcats of Nampa at 11 a.m. Pacific today at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. The winner of that game will advance to Saturday's state championship.
Malm said the team was happy with the win, but said that the focus shifted to the next game right after the victory.
"We're excited, but we're here to try to win this thing," Malm said. "We're not just happy, go lucky, happy to be here. We want to continue to play. We've given ourselves a great opportunity to play in the state semifinals, so we're going to make sure that we do everything we can in our power to take advantage of that opportunity tomorrow."
BURLEY (14-12)
Teegan Schreiter 2 0-1 4, Phoenix Castro 0 0-0 0, Cove Thompson 2 1-2 6, Jake Seely 1 0-0 2, Jacob Redder 2 0-0 5, Nash Gillette 8 2-2 21, Jayden Garcia 0 0-0 0, Ryker Page 5 0-0 10, Fields Bangerter 0 0-0 0, Ty Shirley 0 0-0 0, Matthew Coats 0 0-0 0, Qentin Alvarado 0 0-0 0, Joseph Kloepfer 3 1-2 7, Trevor Jones 0 0-0 0, Krew Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-7 55.
LEWISTON (21-3)
Zavier McFee 0 0-0 0, Royce Fisher 11 11-15 34, DJ Wilkerson 0 0-0 0, Jordan Walker 1 3-5 6, Peyton Walker 0 0-0 0, Andrew Haines 3 0-0 6, Brady Rudolph 2 1-2 6, Blaze Hepburn 3 0-1 6, Carson Henson 0 0-0 0, Noah Schumaker 0 0-0 0, William Bobeck 0 0-0 0, Braylon Howland 0 0-0 0, Krew DeGroot 0 0-0 0, Mason Way 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 17-25 60.
Burley 6 14 20 15—55
Lewiston 11 17 21 11—60
3-point goals — Gillette 3, C. Thompson, Redder, Fisher, J. Walker, Rudolph.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
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