Eye of the Tiger

Mar. 5—Securing their first state basketball title since 1985, the third-seeded Kendrick boys narrowly overcame No. 1 seed Richfield 59-57 in a meeting of Tigers in the Idaho Class 1A Division II championship game at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Saturday.

"It's pretty exciting for me, being a born-and-raised Kendrick kid," said coach Tim Silflow, who estimates he was 3 or 4 years old at the time of the last championship. "... It's pretty neat to be a part of getting one here after such a long time."

It is the seventh state title in school history, and also completed Kendrick's first football/basketball double in the same school year.

Second-quarter surge puts Kendrick on top

Richfield (23-5) outscored Kendrick (20-3) in three of the four quarters played, but Kendrick's 24-8 explosion in the second was enough to balance the scales. The local-area Tigers could do no wrong throughout that period, pouncing on every loose ball, forcing turnovers and capitalizing time and again.

Kendrick freshman Nathan Tweit had an electrifying first half, putting up 18 points including 10 in that second quarter. He complemented creative shot execution around the basket with back-to-back 3s and a pair of free throws to help build a 38-24 halftime lead.

"I'm sure it's the best half (of Tweit's career thus far), and to do it as a freshman on that stage, it's amazing," Silflow said. "That's just a prelude to what you're going to see from him the next few years."

Tweit would not keep up the same voluminous output in the second half, but still finished with a team-high 20 points.

Hewett's heroics lift Tigers one last time

Playing his final high school game, senior Jagger Hewett pulled up for a 3 from beyond NBA distance in the fourth quarter to tie things up at 52 to snap an 11-0 Richfield run in which Kendrick looked to be in crisis.

"When he took it, I honestly thought maybe he was a little too deep and it was forced," Silflow said of the 3, which breathed life back into a Kendrick team that had perhaps begun to tire. "I remember looking in the air thinking it was probably going to miss, and this could be the end of our run here. When it went in, I don't know the emotion that came over me — but that was the moment I knew we were probably going to win this game. That was probably one of the biggest shots he's hit in a four-year career."

Hewett provided 12 points, six steals and four rebounds in total, and concluded his high school career with 1,192 points.

Also delivering for Kendrick was junior guard Hunter Taylor, who put up the Tigers' first points of the game and scored at other critical junctures en route to 11 points. Ty Koepp scored six and snagged a team-high nine rebounds, and Wyatt Cook (six points, six rebounds) "really held his own" guarding Richfield's 6-foot-6 inside threat Kobyn Benzeval, in Silflow's words.

Luken Dalton of Richfield led all scorers with 21 points while making 12 rebounds, and Benzeval notched 16 points and 11 boards.

Tougher in the clutch

There were five ties and seven lead changes, which saw Richfield hold an edge in rebounds (35-33), blocks (5-1) and assists (13-7) while committing 13 turnovers to Kendrick's 17. Ultimately, Kendrick was a hair more accurate shooting the ball — going 24-for-53 (45.3%) to Richfield's 23-for-55 (41.8%), and 6-for-10 at the line compared with Richfield's 5-for-10 — and that proved the decisive difference.

Kendrick won its three games by a combined eight points.

"Having won a couple state titles in football, they're kind of used to that pressure," said Silflow, whose team is heavily stocked with leaders from the school's football team. "They're just ball players no matter what kind of ball. When it comes down to it and you need something, there's somebody that's going to step up and do something great."

Not only are the Tigers experienced, but they also are still young. Hewett is the lone senior, and the program will have significant depth to draw on, not only from returning lettermen, but from a junior varsity team that suffered only one loss this year while facing multiple larger-school foes. Silflow also hopes to get post Dallas Morgan — who was a starter last year but sat this season out injured — back on the court as a senior.

Silflow predicted that "it's going to be a fun couple years" yet to come for his Tigers.

For more photos from the Idaho boys basketball state championship games, click here.

KENDRICK (20-3)

Lane Clemenhagen 1 2-2 4, Jagger Hewett 4 2-4 12, Nathan Tweit 8 2-2 20, Wyatt Cook 3 0-0 6, Hunter Taylor 5 0-1 11, Mason Kimberling 0 0-0 0, Ty Koepp 3 0-1 6. Totals 24 6-10 59.

RICHFIELD (23-5)

Jamen Fuchs 4 0-0 11, Clay Kent 1 0-0 2, Jace Fuchs 0 1-2 1, Kobyn Benzeval 8 0-4 16, Luken Dalton 7 4-4 21, Hudsun Lucero 3 0-0 6. Totals 23 5-10 57.

Kendrick 14 24 9 12—59

Richfield 18 8 15 16—57

3-point goals — Hewett 2, Tweit 2, Taylor, Jam. Fuchs 3, Dalton 3.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.