What a way to finish!

   Such positive vibes might have seemed  illogical, considering the Grizzlies had dropped a pair of games to the Boise-based Lions earlier this season.

   And wasn’t it just one year ago that Rocky Mountain had labored to a 2-19 record during its maiden voyage  as a school?

  Indeed it was, but the Grizzlies defied the odds with a 48-46 Southern Idaho Conference district playoff victory over Borah that secured a berth in the Class 5A state tournament March 4-6 at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

  “We just all believed  we could do it,” said senior point guard Stetson Pace, who scored in double figures for the third time in as many postseason games with 10 points. “We’ve had a lot of guys improve a ton over the course of the season and lately we’ve become really confident as a team.”

  Junior forward Riley Bruneel logged his best performance of the season with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, and added three rebounds and two steals.

   Senior forward Josh Hasquet also came up big, contributing all 13 of his points in the second half, including a 5-of-6 showing at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter when the Grizzlies were protecting a small lead.

  Rocky Mountain improved to 15-9 with the victory.

  “My shot wasn’t going down in the first half but I kept my head and continued to shoot when I was open,” said Hasquet, who swished a pair of 3-point baskets in the third quarter. “You can’t abandon what you do best. You’ve just got to keep playing and believing in yourself.”

  Offensive exploits aside, the No. 1 reason for Rocky Mountain’s historic victory could be traced to its defensive work on Borah standout Craig Spjute, who had torched the Grizzlies for a career-high 36 points on Feb. 11 when the Lions rolled to a 75-67 victory.

  This time, the Grizz continually smothered the 6-foot-4 Spjute with double teams.  He had just five points – all on free throws – until he made an inconsequential 3-pointer at the final buzzer. He finished just 1 of 12 from the field.

   Bruneel and senior  Alex Helquist alternated primary defensive duties against Spjute, considered by many to be the best player in the state.

  “You’ve just got to get physical with him and do your best at denying him the ball,” the 6-3 Helquist said.  “We were quarter-fronting him and half-fronting him. We had guards doubling down on him and then we were getting backside help on him.

  “We weren’t going to let him beat us,” Helquist added.

  Another factor in Rocky Mountain’s victory was its near mistake-free ball-handling as the Grizzlies committed just seven turnovers.

·         ROCKY MOUNTAIN 66, MOUNTAIN VIEW 57 _  The Grizzlies stayed alive in the district tournament with a hard-fought win over their Meridian rival.

Hasquet and Pace each had 15 points and 6-7 senior post Travis Van Diest registered 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots as Rocky Mountain roared to a 22-12 lead after one period and never trailed.

 The Grizzlies endured some scary moments in the fourth quarter, however, as they missed 8 of 10 free throws during  one stretch, enabling Mountain View to inch within two points. But Bruneel provided a huge basket underneath off a pass from sophomore guard David Trompke and the dependable Hasquet sank four straight free throws in the final 90 seconds to cement the win.

Junior Tyler Percifield scored a game-high 26 points for Mountain View.