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900 W. Main St.,
PO Box 690 Grangeville, ID 83530
Phone: 208.983.1200 |
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| Kamiah finishes second in state |
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| State Boys Basketball |
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 | | Free Press/Matthew Neal | | Kamiah Kubs Darian Ball |
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By Matthew Neal (sports/outdoors editor)
NAMPA -- Jack Nygaard went vertical just outside the paint to the left of the key, and as he hit the apex of his jump shot he let the ball fly. The Spalding TF-1000 basketball arched beautifully toward the rim. The potential game-winning shot held the possibility that Kamiah would win its first state basketball title in school history, but it was slightly off target and bounced off the opposite side of the rim into the hands of a Firth defender below. There just wasn't enough time left in the fourth quarter to do anything about it. The final score was 46-45. Firth defended its title and added one more win to its impressive list of four consecutive state basketball titles.
At Idaho Center in Nampa, on Saturday, March 6, the solemn Kubs were awarded the second-place trophy.
"I'm sad and I'm hurting but I will be shooting that shot 1,000 times. I will never miss it again," Kamiah sophomore Jack Nygaard said.
Nygaard scored 15 points for his squad on two buckets, one three-pointer and a solid 8-for-8 from the foul line.
"I feel bad for the seniors and I'm glad I got to help. We just got beat by a good team," Nygaard added.
Kamiah struggled in its initial attack. After six minutes of play in the first quarter, the Kubs were down 10 points, with Firth leading 15-5, but as the first period was about to give way to the second, Kub Darian Ball drilled a three-pointer to make it a 15-8 game.
Soon after -- moments into the second quarter -- Ball struck again with another long ball. Followed by another, and another. Ball hit four consecutive treys. By the end of the half, the Kubs were leading 28-20
"I figured this was our last game so I laid it all on the line," Ball said.
Ball led the game in scoring with 18 points.
"It's disappointing that we didn't win the last game but we made it to state, won two games and had fun, and that's not bad," he said.
Kamiah kept its lead up until the final two minutes of the contest, as Firth hit a three-pointer and capitalized on a few turnovers to tie the game with 1:13 remaining.
Firth implemented a stall offense, running the clock down to 23 seconds before a foul by Kamiah's Garrett Langston sent Firth's Kriff Jensen to the foul line. Jensen hit the first free throw but missed the second, yet Firth now led 46-45.
The Kubs took a timeout and drew up a play. With 19 seconds left they got the ball to Nygaard, who then took the final shot to no avail.
"I would take Jack making that shot any day of the week," Kamiah basketball coach Ryan Ball said.
"These guys played like they were going to win. Hopefully the younger guys will like the taste of the state tournament and work to get back here," Ball said.
Lastly, Tyler Higgins, who also scored five points in the game, said he thought his squad was fortunate.
"It's disappointing but I'm really happy to have had the chance to play here today," Higgins said.
The Kubs dominated the Central Idaho League and won the 2A district tournament and finished the season with a record of 18-6.
Kamiah 8 20 10 7 - 45
Firth 15 5 13 13 - 46
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