If anyone thought the Carey High School boys' basketball team was going to do anything different than the boys did on the gridiron this fall—play as a team—they were badly mistaken based on results of last week's season-opening games.
With nine different players sharing most of the minutes and defensive intensity the objective, last year's state basketball runner-up and this fall's state football champion Carey (4-0, 0-0 league) rattled off four consecutive wins in five days.
Probably the biggest was Saturday's 60-56 road win at Challis highlighted by a career-high 24 points by senior Blair Peck (9-for-18 field including 4-for-8 3-pointers, plus 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals). Carey's 16-8 fourth-quarter rally erased its 48-44 deficit.
Jacy Baird (8 points, 4 boards), Dillon Cenarrusa (8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) and Baley Barg (6 points) were the next best Panther scorers at Challis. Carey (37% field goals) didn't shoot as well as its 43% average and was beaten on the offensive boards, but the Panthers kept turnovers (12) to a minimum and made 10 steals led by Shane Bingham's three.
Carey, a 1A Division 2 school, beat another 1A Division 1 school in Hagerman (1-1) by a 50-47 score Friday on the Panther floor. The visiting Pirates shot only 16% from 3-point range (3-for-19). Carey did a better job rebounding (27-23) and on the charity stripe (11-for-20 to Hagerman's 8-for-12).
Peck (13.8 ppg) led the way with 14 points. Other Carey contributors included Caleb Cenarrusa (10 points), Baley Barg (10 points), Baird (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Bingham (6 points, 4 assists).
The first two Carey wins last week were fairly lopsided—64-10 over Magic Valley Christian and 50-15 over Lighthouse Christian, both at home. Carey forced multiple turnovers and shot well in each game, including 60% against Magic Valley.
Scorers against Lighthouse were Peck 12, Joe Laidlaw 8, Baird 8, Barg 6, Jack Cenarrusa 6, Bingham 4, Dillon Cenarrusa 4 and Chance Chavez 2. In the MVC game, Caleb Cenarrusa (2 points, 8 assists) and Blair Peck (5 points, 3 assists, 5 steals) led the way as 11 Panthers scored.
Laidlaw (6 points, 6 rebounds) and Charlie Rivera (2 points, 5 steals) chipped in, while Jack Cenarrusa and Chavez added six points each and Baird (3 boards) had eight.
Carey had a big challenge Tuesday at last March's State 1A Division 2 runner-up Castleford (1-0), then the Panthers entertain Oakley (1-2) on Friday, Dec. 10. Oakley opened with a 51-47 loss at Hagerman last Thursday and beat Rockland 52-42 at home Saturday.
Carey girls earn two wins
Coach Lane Durtschi's Panther girls won big at home over Lighthouse Christian (2-3) and Hagerman last week before losing big on the road against Challis Saturday night.
Sophomore guard Jaide Parke (14.3 ppg) and junior post Micaela Adamson (13.0) were the top scorers as Carey (2-2, 0-0 league) won two of its three contests in a busy week.
Thursday, Parke (18 points) and Adamson (16) were the big guns as Carey raced to a 35-14 halftime lead and beat Lighthouse 57-24. Other scorers were Morgan Parke 8, Nicky Gomez 6, Lorene Andrews 4, Darby Northcott 2, Jessica Richardson 2 and McKayla Mecham 1.
Jaide Parke added 17 Friday topping seven scorers in a 53-37 win over Hagerman. Gomez had 9, Adamson 8, Northcott 7, Morgan Parke 4, Richardson 4 and Andrews 4. But Challis came out strong Saturday at home, building a 45-19 halftime lead and winning 76-36.
Adamson (13), Jaide Parke (9) and Northcott (9) did most of the damage for the Panthers.
Next: Carey hosts Oakley (4-1) Friday, Dec. 10 and visits Murtaugh (0-3) Tuesday. Oakley pulled out a 52-50 win at Hagerman Thursday and won 59-40 over Castleford Monday.
