For the week of January 21 - 27, 2004

#1 Carey (12-1)
romps past Shoshone

Panthers hit on all cylinders

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Not very deep, the Carey School boys’ varsity basketball team makes the most of its six primary players.

Four Panthers, and very nearly five, are averaging in double figures. That will win a lot of games in the Idaho 1A cage wars—and it has taken Carey to the top of the 1A poll.

K.C. Rivera, driving into a bunch of Shoshone Indians, scored 8 of his 14 points in Carey’s second quarter run that gave the Panthers a 30-18 halftime lead Friday, at Carey. Express photo by David N. Seelig

On Friday, Carey put five players in double figures for only the second time this season and walloped visiting Shoshone 72-29, in Carey.

The 43-point winning margin was Carey’s biggest of the 2003-04 season. With the win the Panthers rose to #1 ahead of Mackay, Notus, Cascade and Council in the Idahosports.com poll of 1A boys’ teams.

Previously unbeaten Notus lost at Rimrock 53-40 last weekend, while Mackay’s only loss is to Butte County. Mackay handed Carey its only loss 71-58 Dec. 6 in the Carey tournament.

Against Shoshone, Carey moved the ball extremely well on offense and had 24 assists en route to a 57% shooting night.

Sophomore Tyler Cook (18 points, 3 steals, 6 assists) nailed four 3-pointers in Carey’s season-high 26-point third quarter as Carey pulled away from a 30-18 half-time lead.

The Panthers were hot from the outside, finishing with nine 3-pointers to match a season high in long shooting.

Coach Dick Simpson’s Panthers (12-1, 7-0 league) stretched their winning streak to 10 games. Indeed, Carey is 21-0 in its Northside Conference games over two seasons and could threaten the 18-game winning streak of last year’s State 1A third-place team.

Shoshone (3-10, 1-5 league) had no answer for Carey.

The Panthers toyed with the Indians in the first quarter, eventually building a 16-12 lead against the zone. Then, senior K.C. Rivera (4 boards, 5 steals, 8 assists) tallied 8 of his 14 points in the second quarter as Carey upped its lead to an even dozen.

Two close-range baskets by Blake Surerus (11 points, 11 rebounds) set the stage for Carey’s long-range artillery in the third period.

Cook, who tops Carey’s list of 70 3-pointers with 36, made four from behind the arc and Ty Simmons added a three-point play during the 26-2 streak. Shoshone used more time outs, three, than it scored points, two.

Other scorers were Simmons (19.0 ppg) with 15 points and 6 rebounds, Tadd Green 12 points and 3 boards, Devin Simpson 4 assists, and MaKay Neilson 2 points and 2 rebounds. Shoshone’s Tony Pereira had 9 points and 5 boards while Kyle Bingham added 2 points and 7 rebounds.

Carey (64.1 ppg), winners of its last six league contests by an average 23.7 points per game, had no problem with the Bliss Bears 62-26 last Tuesday in Bliss.

Simmons had 16 points and 9 rebounds, Green 14 points and 3 steals, Rivera a triple-double with 12 points, 10 steals and 11 assists, and Simpson a season-best 11 points in the league win.

Carey hosted Dietrich Tuesday, then goes to Camas County Friday, Jan. 23 and entertains The Community School Tuesday, Jan. 27 for "Senior Night," on the Panther hardwoods.

Here are updated league marks, starting with Carey (6-0 road games).

Carey (12-1, 7-0); The Community School (10-4, 5-1); Camas County (6-3, 4-3); Dietrich (5-7, 3-3); Richfield (5-7, 3-4); Shoshone (3-10, 1-5); and Bliss (1-9, 0-7).

The league champion earns a first-round bye in the Northside Sub-District 1A tournament Feb. 12 at Shoshone and faces the winner of #4-#5 in the second round. Here are stats from the Shoshone game:

Carey 72-29 over Shoshone: Tyler Cook 18 points, Ty Simmons 15, K.C. Rivera 14, Tadd Green 12, Blake Surerus 11, MaKay Neilson 2. Rebounds (31)—Surerus 11, Simmons 6, Rivera 4, Cook 4, Green 3, Neilson 2. Steals—Rivera 5, Cook 3, Devin Simpson 2. Assists (25)—Rivera 8, Cook 6, Simpson 5, Surerus 2, Green 2, Neilson 2, Simmons 1.

 

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