Led by senior scoring stars Brett Adamson and Jessica Parke, Carey High School basketball teams are plunging into 2010 with the kind of double-digit efforts that have installed the Panthers into top rankings.
Depth and senior leadership are big factors for the Carey boys, ranked first in the Idahosports.com 1A Division 2 poll, and the Panther girls, ranked third. But both teams face stern challenges to their lofty perches in the coming week.
Thursday, for example, the Carey boys meet one of their primary Northside Conference challengers when they travel to #3-ranked Murtaugh for a duel with the Pacheco brothers, Manuel and Humberto. Carey (7-1, 5-0 league) is unbeaten in league action, and Murtaugh (6-1) only has a 44-40 overtime home loss to #4 Richfield.
Panthers bag Fish, swat away Hornets
In only his second varsity season, Adamson (18.1 ppg) went over the 500-point career mark with team leading 25-point and 19-point scoring efforts in last week's 71-52 and 56-52 home wins over The Community School and Oakley.
Carey stayed perfect on its homecourt with a 5-0 record and earned ninth-year coach Dick Simpson his 180th win.
In its Northside clash Friday with coach Ed Flory's Cutthroats, Carey shot 43% from the field and used a 39-24 second half surge to outlast Sun Valley. Adamson (509 points) scored 25 on 8-for-17 shooting and 6-for-9 at the line, with three 3-pointers and 4 assists.
The Community School (3-3, 3-1 league) tallied a season-high 52 points led by junior transfer Daniel Gomis (29 points) along with senior Paul Davis (12) and sophomore Will Brokaw (7). But the Panthers just had too many weapons for the Fish.
Senior Dillon Simpson, for instance, is Carey's last line of defense. For the season, he leads the team in rebounds (69), assists (26), blocked shots (13), steals (19) and has turned the ball over only 14 times. Simpson averages only 5.4 ppg, fifth on the team, but does a lot.
Against the Cutthroats, Simpson guarded Gomis and still managed 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Other contributors included senior Trevor Peck (13 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks, 3 steals), senior Wacey Barg (6 points, 10 rebouinds) and junior Blair Peck (8 points, 2 assists).
Saturday night, Carey (40% field goal shooting season) had a relatively poor shooting night at 31% and still managed to slip past Oakley (2-5) by a score of 56-52. The Panthers trailed 26-25 at half but kept pecking away, led by Adamson (19 points, 6-for-10 line). Carey outscored Oakley 19-8 at the stripe.
Others were Trevor Peck (14 points, 4 boards), Simpson (5 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Blair Peck (9 points, 2 assists, 2 steals), Barg (5 points, 11 rebounds) and Shane Bingham (4 points, 4 rebounds). Garrett Critchfield (21) led the Hornets on the Carey floor.
The Cutthroats, meanwhile, host Dietrich (6-2, 3-1 league) on Thursday, Jan. 14—Dietrich coming off a 59-32 road win over a Richfield team playing without star Michael Lezamiz last Friday. This Friday, Sun Valley hosts Twin Falls Christian Academy at 5 p.m. and goes to Murtaugh Tuesday.
Carey girls sweep Oakley
Carey senior guard Jessica Parke drew closer to another career milestone Saturday as the host Panthers swept the season series with Oakley by a score of 50-40 in Carey.
Parke (17.5 ppg) improved her season total to 192 points and career mark to 871 with as team-high 23 point effort in Carey's victory. She is close to her fourth consecutive 200-point season for the Panthers.
Freshman Jaide Parke (9 points) and senior Amy Ellsworth (6 points, 15 rebounds) were big factors as Carey (8-3, 4-1 league) stayed unbeaten on its home court with a 6-0 record. Carey did a great job on the offensive boards with 23 rebounds off the glass, out-rebounding the Hornets 43-17 for the entire game.
Micaela Adamson and Nicky Gomez added six points each.
Friday, the host Panthers built a 28-6 halftime lead and cruised to a 47-16 Northside win over The Community School Cutthroats. Jaide Parke scored a season high 16 points and Amy Ellsworth added 12 for Carey. Maggie Flood (6 points) and Natalie Goddard (5) led the way for the Cutthroats.
Carey, ranked #3 behind Dietrich and Richfield in the Idahosports.com 1A Division 2 girls' poll, visited Camas County Tuesday and hosts Challis Friday, Jan. 15. The 1A Division 1 Vikings beat Carey 59-53 in Challis Dec. 5. Next Tuesday, Carey has a chance to avenge a three-point road defeat when it entertains 2A #3-ranked Butte County (11-3).
The Cutthroats (2-5, 0-4) host top-ranked Dietrich (11-1, 4-0) on Thursday, Jan. 14 at The Fish Tank in Sun Valley.
Carey junior Blair Peck drives the baseline during Saturday’s home victory over Oakley.
Photo by David N. Seelig
