Tigers maul Grizzlies in state semifinals

The move to a higher classification has shown no signs of slowing down the Kendrick boys basketball team in the postseason. Now, only one more game stands in the way of the Tigers and their first 2A state title.

In the semifinal round of the Idaho 2A state tournament, the third-seeded Tigers outmatched the seventh-seeded Grace Grizzlies 66-54 on Friday at Vallivue High in Caldwell.

With the win over the Grizzlies (13-14), Kendrick (19-7) will face Whitepine League foe and No. 1 seed Kamiah in the championship at 10:30 a.m. Pacific today at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

Tigers quickly slash Grizzlies

The Tigers took off in the second quarter. They went on a 29-3 run that spanned the end of the first all of the way through the second quarter. Kendrick only allowed Grace to score three points in the entire second frame.

“We got off to a strong start in the game,” Kendrick coach Steve Kirkland said. “Cade Silflow hit some shots for us and got us going early. We had a good first half. I thought defensively we played really well. I mean, we held them to 11 points (in the half).”

Kirkland said the team stayed aggressive and hit its shots. He said that they were able to take advantage of Grace’s zone defense and that Maddox Kirkland was able to find post players and shooters with good looks, which allowed them to score.

Kendrick shot a 56% from the field in the first half, while Grace shot just 14.3% and made four total shots.

Grace made a push in the third quarter when it went on a 24-6 run, but it was not quite enough. The closest Grace made the game this late was a six-point deficit.

Kirkland said Grace did a better job of getting the ball to its post players in the third quarter. However, the Tigers held their composure as Ralli Roetcisoender hit some big shots that kept the Grizzlies at bay.

“Ultimately, we struggled during that run to score and they hit a lot of shots and got a lot of offensive rebounds,” Kirkland said. “But Ralli hit some baskets for us to stop that run and maintain our lead. We were able to hold on to it from there.”

Top players

Kendrick was led by Roetcisoender, who scored 25 points and led the game in scoring. He went 6-for-11 from the field, drained three 3-pointers and nearly went perfect from the free-throw line, shooting 10-for-11. Roetcisoender was also tied on the team for most rebounds with five.

Cade Silflow was second in the game in points, scoring 15 on 4-for-8 from the field. He hit three 3-pointers, shot 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and grabbed three rebounds.

Maddox Kirkland was also important to the Tigers’ offense, scoring 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. He added in an and-one free throw and dished out five assists — a team high.

Laexin Van Gass sat atop of most statistics for the Grizzlies with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

Up Next

Kendrick will face Kamiah for the fourth time this season, with the Tigers’ lone win versus the Kubs coming in the 2A Whitepine League district title game.

Kamiah (23-2) took the first two of these matchups, winning 60-53 on Dec. 13 and beat Kendrick on Jan. 25, 65-58.

However, after its loss on Jan. 25 against Kamiah, Kendrick has gone on a 12-game winning streak, including a 52-46 win against Kamiah in the district final on Feb. 26.

Kirkland said that ultimately the team has done this before. He said to be successful against a good opponent like Kamiah, the Tigers are going to have to play their best basketball of the season.

“We’re familiar with Kamiah,” Kirkland said. “They’re a really good team, so we have to come out and we have to control the things that we can control. We have to play really solid defense, we have to rebound and we have to be aggressive on offense.”

KENDRICK (19-7)

Maddox Kirkland 5 1-1 11, Cade Silflow 4 5-6 16, Ralli Roetcisoender 6 10-11 25, Kolt Koepp 2 3-4 7, Wyatt Cook 2 0-0 4, Nathan Kimberling 0 0-0 0, Hudson Kirkland 1 1-1 3, Brock Boyer 0 0-0 0, Nathan Tweit 0 0-0 0, Landon Sneve 0 0-0 0, Blake Morgan 0 0-0 0, Morgan Boyer 0 0-0 0, Jerry Anderson 0 0-0 0, Travis Hix 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 20-23 66.

GRACE (13-14)

Derek Hill 2 0-0 5, Jamison Smith 1 1-2 3, Braden Kimball 4 1-1 11, Gavin Draper 1 0-0 3, Cooper Andersen 0 0-0 0, Laexin Van Gass 5 5-7 15, Chase Smith 3 1-2 9, Carson Reeves 0 0-0 0, Carson Welch 0 0-0 0, Trevor Mathews 0 0-0 0, Parker Yost 3 2-6 8, Bodee Smith 0 0-0 0, Landon Moss 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-18 54.

Kendrick 14 21 10 21 — 66

Grace 8 3 26 17 — 54

3-Point goals — Silflow 3, Roetcisoender 3, Kimball 2, Smith 2, Hill, Draper.

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.