Kendrick, Timberline boys are in familiar territory
Mar. 1—For the second consecutive season, the Kendrick Tigers and the Timberline Spartans of Weippe will represent the area at the Idaho Class 1A Division II state boys basketball tournament, which begins Thursday at Caldwell High School.
The third-seeded Tigers (17-3) have won district titles in back-to-back years, while the seventh-seeded Spartans (12-10) have come through the back door in each of the past two seasons. Timberline will face No. 2 seed Rockland at 11 a.m. Pacific, then Kendrick takes to the court against sixth-seeded Cascade at 1 p.m. Pacific.
Kendrick has claimed a total of six state boys basketball titles in school history, but none for almost four decades, with the most recent coming in 1985.
"My thought going into the state tournament was to try to be in the top three," said Kendrick coach Tim Silflow, whose team played in the consolation final a year ago.
Perhaps more than anything else, this season's Tigers are distinguished by their balanced offense, fielding "five or six guys capable of scoring in double figures," according to Silflow.
Senior guard Jagger Hewett, who has totaled more than 1,000 points in his career, is averaging 12.8 points, 6.2 steals and six assists per game this season. Junior Ty Koepp is sitting at 14 points per game, while 6-foot-1 freshman Nathan Tweit has averaged 13.6 points while shooting 47% from the field. Junior guard Hunter Taylor averaged 18.5 points in the district tournament run.
"Our junior class has been playing basketball, actually all sports, together since probably the third grade," Silflow noted.
Silflow described opening-round opponent Cascade as a "quick" team that runs the floor effectively and plays a similar style to his own, suggesting that the game could be something of a "track meet."
"I think it's a good match-up for us," he said. "I have a lot of confidence."
The first and only state title in Timberline's school history came in 1972, and was followed by a 42-year drought during which the Spartans did not even qualify for the state tournament. They broke that streak in 2019-20, and now are in for the fourth consecutive time, this season defying the odds in the process as they upset second-seeded Deary 49-47 in the first round of the district tournament and later overcame St. John Bosco of Cottonwood 64-54 in overtime for the district's second state berth.
The senior trio of Parker Brown, Logan Hunter and Saimone Tuikolovatu has been critical to Timberline's late-season surge, with Brown putting up 25 points including 10 of the team's 12 in overtime against the Patriots. Juniors Gavin Christopherson and Rylan West round out the offensive leadership for the Spartans.
On paper, Timberline has an uphill battle once again against the Bulldogs (21-2), who are defending state champions.
The Tigers and Spartans are in the same half of the draw, and could meet in the semifinal round of either the championship or consolation bracket Friday.
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
Class 1A Division II schedule
All games at Caldwell High School
All games Pacific
Thursday's Games
Game 1: Rockland vs. Timberline, 11 a.m.
Game 2: Kendrick vs. Cascade, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Watersprings vs. Council, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Richfield vs. Clark Fork, 6 p.m.
Friday's Games
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 6 p.m.
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 1 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Consolation final
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 a.m.
Third-place game
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 11 a.m.
Championship
At Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 a.m.
