Panther boys stay atop Northside, 1A
poll
Carey (14-1) adds two more wins
The only thing standing between the Carey
School boys’ basketball team and its second straight Northside Conference season
title was Tuesday’s home game against The Community School of Sun Valley.
Coach Dick Simpson’s #1-ranked Panthers
(14-1, 9-0 league), winners of 12 consecutive games, hosted the Cutthroats
(11-2, 6-1) Tuesday.
Blake Surerus, Carey senior, shoots over Shoshone’s Tony Pereira during
the runaway 72-29 Panther win in Carey Jan. 16. Surerus added a season-best 21
at Fairfield Friday. Express photo by David N. Seelig
A Carey win would have nailed down the top
seed in the seven-team Northside tourney Feb. 12 in Shoshone. Carey beat The
Community School 59-46 in Sun Valley Dec. 19.
The Panthers have been virtually
unstoppable since they lost to Mackay 71-58 in the championship game of the
Carey Holiday Tournament Dec. 6. That was the only game this season Carey
trailed at halftime. The Panther margin of victory in their last seven victories
has been 27.1 ppg.
Last week Carey (65.5 ppg) trounced
visiting Dietrich 79-47 and captured a 71-50 road victory over Camas County.
The Panthers are now 7-0 away from home
this season. All five starters are averaging in double figures—Ty Simmons 18.6
ppg, Tadd Green 10.9, Tyler Cook 10.7, Blake Surerus 10.3 and K.C. Rivera 10.2.
Senior guard Rivera had a great game
against Dietrich (5-9, 3-5). Rivera scored 14 points with 12 assists and 7
steals as five Panthers scored in double figures for the second straight game.
Carey shot 50% for the night and Dietrich 28%.
Simmons led all scorers with 19 points.
Green added 8 points and 11 rebounds, Surerus 12 points and 9 boards. Cook had
14 points including four 3s, and Devin Simpson (two 3s) rang up a season-best 12
points.
At Fairfield Friday, sophomore Green
tallied 14 of his game-high and season-best 23 points in the fourth quarter as
Carey stretched its 10-point lead after three quarters into a 71-50 triumph over
Camas County. Surerus also had a season-high with 21 points, plus 9 assists and
3 blocked shots.
Steve Vouch and Travis Van Gelder tallied
15 points apiece for Camas County (7-5, 4-5), which had no answer for Carey’s
post players.
Next: Carey travels to Richfield (6-7,
4-4) Feb. 3 and Shoshone (5-10, 3-5) Feb. 6. The third- through sixth-seeded
spots in the tourney are up in the air between Camas, Richfield, Dietrich and
Shoshone.
Here are stats from last week’s wins over
Dietrich and Camas County:
Carey 79-47 over Dietrich: Ty
Simmons 19, K.C. Rivera 14, Tyler Cook 14, Blake Surerus 12, Devin Simpson 12,
Tadd Green 8. Rebounds—Green 11, Surerus 9, Rivera 7. Blocked shots—Green
4. Steals—Rivera 7, Simmons 4. Assists—Rivera 12, Simmons 6.
3-pointers—Cook 4, Simpson 2, Simmons 1.
Carey 71-50 over Camas County:
Green 23, Surerus 21, Simmons 13, Rivera 8, Cook 3, Simpson 3. Rebounds—Rivera
10, Green 10. Blocked shots—Surerus 3. Steals—Rivera 4, Simmons 2.
Assists—Surerus 9, Rivera 4. 3-pointers—Cook 1, Simmons 1.
Season stats: Offense—65.5
ppg. Defense—46.5 ppg. Rebounds—Surerus 150, Simmons 112.
Blocked shots—Surerus 40. Steals—Rivera 59. Assists—Rivera 81.