Outside of pride and sheer determination, there was no logical reason that the Carey School boys' basketball should have played four games and made it to the consolation final of Saturday's State 1A tournament at Vallivue in Caldwell.
Winning two of their four games in the 16-team tournament certainly wasn't because of the Panther shooting. Carey (40% field goal shooting season) struggled mightily at state, shooting just 30% from the field compared to 45% for its foes.
But coach Dick Simpson's Panthers (22-6) battled to the final moment and nearly pulled off an improbable upset of 2005 state champion and 2006 runner-up Troy in Saturday's consolation final at Vallivue.
Troy (21-6) won 52-50 in overtime, but Carey's intense defense kept the Panthers in the hunt. Carey caused 23 turnovers and stayed alive to the very end despite being outrebounded 32-22 and outshot (52% to 27%) from the field.
Carey's finish to an outstanding season that continued the Panther success at state (12-8 in the Blaine County school's last five state trips) was a tribute to senior scoring leaders Brad Hunt and Allen Peck.
Hunt (19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Peck (14 points, 5 steals, all 5 overtime points) did it all for Carey against Troy, and they did it throughout the tournament. Hunt (67 points) averaged 16.8 ppg and Peck (56 points) averaged 14.0 ppg.
In Carey's 61-38 loss to eventual state champion Genesee Wednesday, Hunt had 16 and Peck 10. Carey enjoyed its best shooting game (39%) and came back Thursday with a 62-54 win over Clark Fork. Hunt weighed in with 20 points, Peck 17 and junior D.J. Simpson 17 as the Panthers hit the boards well. Senior James Carlson (6 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) contributed.
Simpson (11 points, 9 rebounds) led Carey Friday in its 53-39 victory that ousted the Tri-Valley Titans. Hunt (12 points, 5 boards, 3 assists) and Peck (15 points, 5 rebounds) were big contributors. So was Panther senior Cody Baird (7 points, 3 assists, 5 steals).
While Carey didn't shoot well at state and were out-rebounded, the Panthers were great at the free throw line (50-for-70, 21-for-47 opponents) and had 53 turnovers compared to 81 for its four state rivals.
The tournament turned out to be a coronation for top-ranked Genesee (26-1) and its Player-of-the-Year candidate Ray Stout, the 6-5 senior post. The Bulldogs won their first state boys' title since 1983, and third overall, with an easy 77-53 win over Greenleaf Friends Academy (20-6) Saturday.
Stout, who scored 27 points with 16 rebounds against Carey, finished up his four state games with 88 points (22.0 ppg) and 55 rebounds (13.8).
Meanwhile, Carey senior Peck finished a fine four-year career as this year's top scorer (360 points, 12.9 ppg) and 3-point shooter (66 of Carey's 134). Over four years Peck (814 points, 127 3-pointers) moved past Alex Peterson into 11th-place on the all-time Carey list.
Other scorers: Hunt 328 points (11.7 ppg, 575 career); Simpson 240 (8.6 ppg); Carlson 207 (7.4 with 27 3-pointers); Baird 185 (6.6); Tyler Parke 154 (5.5); Blake Whitby 78; Kade Peterson 56; Tyler Wilde 17; Connor Rivera 11; Scott Ellsworth 11; Kyle Brooks 4.
Carey rebound leaders: Simpson 168, Hunt 164 and Parke 143. Assists: Baird 64, Simpson 60 and Peck 43. Steals: Baird 73, Simpson 67, Hunt 57 and Peck 56. Blocked shots: Simpson 39 and Hunt 23. For the season Carey averaged 59.0 ppg (50.8 at state) and yielded 48.0 ppg (51.5 at state).
Peck and Hunt made All-Northside Conference first team and were joined by Community School junior Mac Whittington. Simpson made second team and Baird honorable mention on the squad.
