3A

Shelley Russets
Record: 18-4
Head coach: Dave Hadley (10th year)
Road to state: Beat Teton 65-50 in first round of 3A District 6 playoffs; beat Sugar-Salem 52-48 in semifinals; beat Sugar-Salem 61-52 in championship game.
Players to watch: Tanner Higham, PG, jr. (13 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg, 2.5 spg); Logan Driscoll, C, sr. (8 ppg, 5 rpg); Jordan Kidman, G, sr. (8 ppg, 3 spg).
Notes: The Russets are on an eight-game winning streak after blowing through the tight Mountain Rivers Conference undefeated. Led by their returning starting point guard, Tanner Higham, Shelley runs an open offense with a lot of possibilities depending on their opponents’ weaknesses. Perhaps the Russets’ biggest strength is their coaching and discipline. In his 10th year at Shelley, Dave Hadley has the Russets running his system like a well-oiled machine. Rarely will Shelley make a mental error on offense or on defense. Their challenge, however, will be stopping the athletic posts found on other teams. Mason Higham and Logan Driscoll are big, but struggled against the fast posts found on teams like Firth.

Bonners Ferry Badgers
Coach: Gordy Allured, 61-36, 4th year
Record: 14-9
Road to state: Defeated Priest River 65-55 in district opener, lost 59-57 to Kellogg in district title game, defeated St. Maries 65-63 to capture second seed to state.
Players to watch: A.J. Bennett, sr., 5-11, guard, 11.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg; Ryan Winebark, sr., 6-5, wing/post, 14.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg; Casey Langford, sr., 5-9, g, 7.7 ppg.
Notes: The Badgers are making a fourth straight trip to state and seventh in the last eight years. Traveling to state shouldn’t be any problem for the Badgers. They’re used to playing on the road. They played 12 of their first 14 games away from home. Bennett, a two-year starter at quarterback, was named the Intermountain League’s player of the year. They appear to be peaking at the right time with four wins in their last five games, the lone loss, 59-57, to Kellogg in the district title game.

Fruitland Grizzlies
Record: 20-2
Head coach: Mike Fitch (9th year)
Road to state: Defeated Payette 74-44 in District III tournament semifinal; beat Weiser 72-56 in district championship game.
Players to watch: Andrew Dahle, senior forward (14 ppg, 6 rpg, 56 percent shooting); Kaleo Nawahine, senior guard (10 ppg, 3 apg, 2 rpg); Matt Stanger, junior forward (10 ppg, 6 rpg, 53 percent shooting); Ty Pena, junior guard (8 ppg, 4 apg).
Notes, quotes: The Grizzlies have a veteran squad with 10 seniors and three juniors. Andrew Dahle is four-year starter who missed six games this season but leads the team in scoring, rebounds and shooting percentage.
“This is a very competive group,” Fitch said. “They have very high expectations. They like expectation, they are used to it and they kind of embrace it.”

Buhl Indians
Record: 17-8
Coach: Ryan Bowman, sixth year
Road to state: Defeated Filer in District IV quarterfinals, lost to Kimberly in semifinals, defeated Declo in elimination game, lost to Kimberly in championship game. Defeated Sugar-Salem in District IV-VI state play-in game.
Players to watch: G Brad Twiss (sr.), F Tory Cooper (sr.), G/F Brian Hosman (sr.)
Notes: Buhl was the state runner-up last season but had to qualify for state the hard way this time around. The Indians went wire-to-wire in the District IV regular season but was upset twice by Kimberly in the district tournament. Twiss has come on strong in his continued recovery from a torn ACL last season, and Hosman has only played a handful of games since returning from a broken foot. Cooper is the mainstay inside, and Eric Sengvanhpheng and Patrick Osterkamp provide a steady backcourt presence. Buhl has the talent to make a dent at state, but the key will be to put its recent struggles in the past and focus on a new lease on playoff life.

Kimberly Bulldogs
Record: 14-7
Coach: Roger Keller (14th year)
Road to state: Defeated Declo in District IV quarterfinals, defeated Buhl in semifinals and championship.
Players to watch: G Eric Marvin (jr.), G/F Duston Brown (jr.), F Jared Mumm (jr.)
Notes: Kimberly boasts a handful of holdovers from its state semifinalist football team in the fall. Marvin and A.J. Schroeder are capable of lighting it up, and Brown can hit from inside or outside. Add in Mumm and Evan Jerke inside and it’s a tough combination. The Bulldogs have a stable of good athletes who make good decisions with the basketball. Keller has his kids playing their best basketball of the year at the right time, and Kimberly hopes to replicate its deep state run during football.

Kellogg Wildcats
Coach: Kieth Finkbeiner (cq), 47-22, 3rd year
Record: 16-5
Road to state: Defeated St. Maries 56-53 in district opener and defeated Bonners Ferry 59-57 in district title game.
Players to watch: Kenny Stuart, sr., 5-11, guard, 11 ppg, 2.2 apg; Ty Ketchum, sr., 5-11, g, 9.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg; Jeremiah Big Spring, sr., 6-0, wing, 8.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.0 apg.
Notes: Kellogg won the Intermountain League title. The Wildcats have won seven straight games, dating back to a 63-54 loss to Bonners Ferry. That loss snapped an earlier eight-game winning streak. Kellogg and BF split two league games. The Wildcats’ strength is defense. Most of the Wildcats are shorter than 6 foot. This is Kellogg’s third trip to state in the last four years.

Snake River Panthers
Record: 15-6
Head coach: Robert Coombs (15th year)
Road to state: Beat American Falls, 41-35, in first round of Fifth District tournament; beat Marsh Valley, 45-28, in next round; beat Bear Lake, 58-57 (OT), for district title.
Players to watch: Kyle Gelles, F, Sr. (15.4 ppg); Dusty Harral, F, Sr. (10.3 ppg); Michael Tominaga, G, Sr (10.0 ppg).
Notes: For the fourth straight year, the Panthers are at the state tournament. Two years ago they won their second of back-to-back state titles, and a handful of seniors on this year’s team played varsity during that run. So yes, the Panthers know what they’re getting into. But they’ll play the rest of the year without senior center Nephan Dawson, who tore his ACL two weeks ago in practice. That puts a heavier weight on Gelles and Harral inside, and it will force Snake River to rely on point guard Michael Tominaga for a bit more scoring.

Weiser Wolverines
Record: 17-6
Head coach: Dave Shirts (9th year)
Road to state: Defeated McCall-Donnelly 45-44 in semifinal of District III tournament; lost to Fruitland 72-56 in championship game; beat McCall-Donnelly 60-53 to qualify for state.
Players to watch: Brandon Richins, senior guard (10 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5 apg, 2 spg); Willie Overgaard, senior post (12.9 ppg, 10.7 rpg); Grayson Duren, senior guard (6.3 ppg, 1.9 apg)
Notes, quotes: During the regular season, Weiser lost to top-ranked Fruitland twice, but by a combined two points. “It is just a group of good character kids that play together,” Shirts said. “We are happy where we are at right now and looking forward to the tournament.” A number of Wolverine players, including Richins and Overgaard, return from last year’s team that qualified for the state tournament. “I think that will be big for us,” Shirts said about last year’s trip to state. “There is a group of seniors that got that experience and I think that will be good for us.”