Wednesday — January 28, 2004

Tough endings, but
WR boys keep working

Still learning how to win games

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By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

You’ve got to walk before you run, and the Wood River High School boys’ varsity basketball team is just getting its legs under first-year coach Fred Trenkle. Wood River is learning how to win, but the process is tough.

Jason Hofman (28 points, 16 rebounds) lifts a shot over Valley’s Joe Miller (#11) and Michael Grant (#32) during Wednesday’s tight game won by the quicker Vikings 60-59 in Hailey. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Last week, for instance, Wood River (3-10 overall) lost three intense games that could have gone either way. The Wolverines nearly beat Valley and Kimberly at home. They came within five points of #3-ranked Declo, in the forbidding Hornet gym.

Just being in the three games at the end, against three of the Magic Valley’s formidable basketball programs, was an accomplishment for a group of Wolverines who have held halftime leads and been close at the end in only six of their 35 games over two seasons.

Trenkle is the first to acknowledge the learning process, and last week’s results were enough to make Trenkle raise the bar for his boys. "We didn’t quite get it done," he said after last Wednesday’s 60-59 home loss to Valley.

By saying so, he implied that soon, Wood River will get the job done.

"We feel like we’re coming along," he said. "We knew it would be hard."

Considering its current six-game losing streak including Friday’s 47-42 Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference loss at Declo and Saturday’s excruciating 59-53 home setback to Kimberly, Wood River is likely gone from consideration for one of the top two seeds in the six-team SCIC tourney.

But, with four SCIC games left including Tuesday’s date at Buhl, Wood River was still in the hunt for the third seed and a home date for the first round of the tournament. To do it, they’ll need wins over Buhl, Gooding and either Filer or Kimberly.

The Wolverines have already made great strides. They’re feared because they play brutally hard, to which Declo can attest. They take their free throws, even if they don’t make them. They rebound. They’re starting to get more confidence in their outside shooting.

Heck, 6-7 senior star Jason Hofman even makes about 50% of his dunk attempts, about the rate of Wood River’s free throw shooting, but it sure gets the middle school kids hollering when he goes up for one.

Saturday in Hailey, Kimberly built an early nine-point lead behind the bulldozing of 6-4 senior Ricky Zodrow (11 first-quarter points), an early deficit that is about par for the Wood River comeback kids this season. Then Wood River went on 11-0 and 7-0 streaks and crept ahead 29-23 at half.

Seven different Wolverines scored in the 17-7 second quarter surge and everybody contributed. Giving a strong effort on offense with 8 points and on defense with a team-high 11 rebounds was Jeremy Selcho, who finally shut down Zodrow on defense.

Hofman was a monster with two blocks and a slam in the third period, and junior point guard Brady Femling had five assists as Wood River stretched its lead to 43-35. But Kimberly’s sweet-shooting lefty Darin Musser was just getting warmed up.

Unstoppable from outside, Musser drilled 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Wood River grew more tentative and stopped attacking on offense—and the Wolverines got no help from two officials who refused to whistle the Bulldogs for the pounding they were inflicting.

Wood River hurt itself with turnovers against Kimberly’s full-court pressure including Musser’s steal and three-point play putting the Bulldogs ahead for good 52-51 with 2:39 left.

The upshot? Kimberly rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to win by six points and stay on the heels of Declo (7-0 league) with a 4-1 record.

Hofman (11.6 ppg) finished with 14 points and 7 boards, Scott Bohrer 8 points and 7 rebounds, and Femling 5 points and an amazing 9 assists.

Friday night, Declo quickly forgot its 33-point road win over Wood River in December and found itself in a battle. Femling (5 points), Bohrer (4), Hofman (4) and Riley Neff (3) scored in Wood River’s 16-8 third quarter that trimmed an 11-point halftime deficit to 38-35 entering the fourth.

Declo (12-2, winners of 10 straight games) made its free throws to survive by five. Hofman finished with 11.

Wednesday, a lightning-quick Valley Vikings bunch sprinted to a 20-8 lead after one quarter and then spent the rest of the non-conference game watching the Jason Hofman show. Hofman ended with a career-high 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Reserve guard Jonathan Dittmer helped Wood River get back into the game by scoring 6 points in the second quarter. It was 30-26 Valley at half. Stop the presses—Wood River buried three 3-pointers in the third including Femling’s drainer at the buzzer. 44-44.

Hofman added 6 more points and Selcho 4 in the fourth and Wood River went ahead 57-56 on Selcho’s hoop, from Femling, with 1:22 left. But Valley’s 6-1 senior stud Michael Grant (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 5 assists) somehow made a twisting, falling baseline drive go into the hole.

With 30 seconds left, trailing 58-57, Wood River didn’t get the shot it wanted, but Femling stole the ball after a Grant defensive rebound and went to the line for two shots. Femling made both, the gym was screaming loud and Wood River inched ahead 59-58 with 14 seconds on the clock.

The Vikings got the ball in the hands of Grant, who clearly walked down the lane, and clearly missed his shot, but Wood River just as clearly didn’t block out on the rebound—which Grant got and put back at the buzzer for a painful 60-59 Valley win.

Wood River entertains Gooding Friday, Jan. 30 in Hailey and Jerome visits the valley Monday, Feb. 2.

In the SCIC: Declo 12-2 (7-0, at Filer Friday); Kimberly 7-5 (4-1, home Filer Thursday, home Buhl Friday); Filer 4-8 (2-3, at Kimberly Thursday, home Declo Friday); Buhl 4-9 (3-3, at Kimberly Friday); Gooding 2-13 (0-7).

Wolverine home results:

Kimberly 59-53 over WR: Jason Hofman 14 points, Jeremy Selcho 8, Scott Bohrer 8, Brian Ward 6, Brady Femling 5, Joe Paisley 4, Matt Pruett 4, Riley Neff 3, Kory Ott 1. Rebounds (37)—Selcho 11, Bohrer 7, Hofman 7, Neff 4. Steals—Femling 2, Bohrer 2, Ward 2. Assists—Femling 9. Blocked shots—Hofman 4. 3-pointers—Ward 2, Bohrer 2.

Valley 60-59 over WR: Jason Hofman 28 points, Jeremy Selcho 8, Jonathan Dittmer 6, Scott Bohrer 6, Brady Femling 5, Dylan Fullmer 4, Matt Pruett 2. Rebounds (35)—Hofman 16, Bohrer 4, Kory Ott 3, Selcho 3. Steals—Dittmer 2. Assists—Femling 7, Riley Neff 2, Joe Paisley 2, Bohrer 2. Blocked shots—Hofman 4, Selcho 2, Pruett 1. 3-pointers: Bohrer 2, Femling 1, Fullmer 1, Dittmer 1.

 

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