Day 1 opened well for Idaho Select teams. All four teams had a game each, winning 3 out of 4.
Idaho Select Black was impressive in their win over Colorado’s Force, 65-58. They opened strong and withstood several runs by the Force. Rebounding turned out to be the key factor down the stretch as the Idaho players got extra opportunities on the majority of Force misses. Sean McCarthy led all scorers with 22 and Joey Nebeker finished with 18.
The White team (17U) started very slow against Hope Christian. Down most of the game, the guys battled a small but disciplined team from New Mexico. White was initially content to shoot poorly from out side while missing most of their free throw attempts. Not a recipe for success.
It was a solid last two minutes that brought the White team back. Guys started to penetrate, draw fouls and make big defensive plays. They would eventually gut out the win 60-56.
The most exciting come back of the day may have actually come in a loss. The Green (15U) squad also started slow, down early in the second half 12-30. But a 23-5 run over the next 10 minutes allowed Green to tie the game with 6:35 to go. But their energy was exhausted and they ended up losing 42-48.
The Red (14U) came away with a 3 point win, 56-53. Keeping the slow start theme going, the guys were down 1-15 before finding their groove and getting the win.