When push came to shove, they did it right and collected the winning t-shirts to show for their effort.
Sutton & Sons made the mistake of playing it soft and relying too much on perimeter shooting during its 55-52 loss to Growing Concern Tuesday in the Outlaw League Men's Basketball tournament semi-final.
They didn't take advantage of their quickness at the guard position and challenge Growing Concern with penetration. The result? When their outside shots dried up, Sutton went south—and Growing Concern forced an extra title game.
That deciding game of the 10- team league tournament was played Thursday at The Community Campus gym in Hailey and it was nip and tuck for nearly the entire 50 minutes. The score was 27-27 at half and 45-45 with seven minutes left.
And then, Sutton & Sons' guards Creigh Christensen and Morgan Uhrig took over the game and put a lid on it. Christensen nailed a 3-pointer and drove the lane and hit a technical free throw, and Uhrig completed the decisive 9-0 run by drilling a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 54-45 lead.
That, and free throws down the stretch (15-of-22 second half) wrapped up the title for Sutton.
Seventh-seeded Sutton & Sons (10-9) won its fifth of six games during the two-week tournament by a 68-63 score over #4-seeded Growing Concern Hair Design (14-7). The champions put three players in double figures and nearly four.
Leading the way were Wyoming basketball collegian Christensen (19 points, four 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and Wood River High School product Uhrig (18 points, 6-for-7 at the line). Mike Scullion scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half including two big 3-pointers to help the cause.
Sutton & Sons did much better on the glass compared to last Tuesday's loss to Growing Concern, when the barbers out-rebounded Sutton 43-33. This time, the board war was dead even at 37-37 and the champions boasted four players with five or more boards.
Contributors were league Most Valuable Player Ross Sutton (9 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals), Wes Southward (7 points, 5 boards, 2 steals), Shane Quarles (8 rebounds), Anthony Rooney (5 boards) and Craig Eastop (2 points).
Tim Richards continued his outstanding work for Growing Concern. He was both the game-high scorer in the championship game with 24 points, 12 in each half, but also the top rebounder with 19. In the two final games he had 36 of Growing Concern's 79 rebounds.
Wood River High junior Matt Staskiewicz (14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists) and Gary Carr (14 points, 2 boards, 2 assists) chipped into the Growing Concern cause.
Others were Tom Liston (8 points), Brian Ros (2 points, 4 boards, 2 steals), Corbin Miniard (3 rebounds) and captain Lewis Garza (1 steal).
Here is a list of team MVPs:
Sutton & Sons: MVP—Ross Sutton. Honorable mention—Creigh Christensen. Growing Concern: MVP—Tim Richards. HM—Matt Staskiewicz.
Soundwave/Rocky Mtn. Hardware: MVP—Luke Macdonald. HM—Kenny Nelson. Coeneo/Hailey Auto Exchange: MVP—Papas Parades. HM—Jesus Villaneuva. Johnny G's Subshack: MVP—Mark Davidson. HM—Riley O'Grady.
Whiskey Jacques: MVP—Fernando Murga. HM—Kevin Booth. Sturges Productions: MVP—Keaton Sturges. HM—Buddy Peterson. Jivaro Headhunters: MVP—Jay Fry. HM—Mike Payne.
League-O's: MVP—Kyle Livingston. HM—Garrett Ford. Sun Valley Brokers: MVP—Jim Carkonen. HM—Dustin Arnold.
Tim Richards, the leader of Growing Concern Hair Design, stops and pops over Mike Scullion of Sutton & Sons. Photo by David N. Seelig
