Weekend Roundup: Idaho Falls Metro

<p>As teams start to get into mid-season form, the stakes continue to rise. However, COVID remains with cancellations, scheduling changes and more. These boys are going above and beyond to ensure they are able to play basketball and the level of play is extremely competitive. Let's take a look at the past weekends' critical matchups and the important games ahead this week. </p> <p><strong>Friday, January 15th</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Lights Out Shooting from Idaho Falls</strong></em></p> <p>At Highland, the Rams couldn’t overcome their eight-point halftime deficit in a 51-47 loss to Idaho Falls.</p> <p>It didn’t help that Idaho Falls shot 9 of 15 from beyond the arc. Though Wright knocked down a handful of triples and Durham scored the Rams’ first eight points, Highland could never take the lead. </p> <p><em><strong>Madison holds off Blackfoot</strong></em></p> <p>At Blackfoot, the Broncos put up a good fight against Madison but Madison came out with a 57-49 victory.</p> <p>The Bobcats got out to a 17-8 first quarter lead that set a rough tone for the home team. Even with Blackfoot keeping the game close, the result was never really in doubt. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="969603" first="Carter" last="Layton"] scored 14 and [player_tooltip player_id="970441" first="Ja’Vonte" last="King"] notched 11 for the Broncos.</p> <p><strong>Saturday, January 16th</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Shurtliff stars for West Side over Bear Lake</strong></em></p> <p>At West Side, behind 19 points from [player_tooltip player_id="969492" first="Bryler" last="Shurtliff"], the Pirates had no scares in their 44-29 win over Bear Lake. Shurtliff seemingly never takes a night-off and his ability to score in a variety of ways makes him one of the best players all not just in the Metro but the state. </p> <p>The Pirates beat the Bears in every quarter and had a six-point advantage in both the first and third quarters. Behind Shurtliff, Easton Henderson was the only other West Side player to score in double-figures, collecting 10 points.</p> <p><em><strong>Balanced effort by Rockland</strong></em></p> <p>Rockland had contributions all over the floor in their dominant 65-32 victory over Leadore. </p> <p>Levi Farr led all Bulldogs with 16 points, seemingly the first time Braden Permann didn’t lead Rockland’s scoring this season. No matter, Permann racked up 13 points. Wes (14) and Teague Matthews (12) combined to score 26 points.</p> <p><em><strong>COVID-Cancellation</strong></em></p> <p>Saturday’s game between Aberdeen and Malad was canceled because of a positive COVID test within the Malad program. If there are no more positive tests, the Dragons will be allowed to get back to practice on Monday night.</p> <p><strong>Games to Watch</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Tuesday, January 19th</strong></em></p> <p>North Gem vs Watersprings</p> <p>Blackfoot vs Rigby</p> <p>Twin Falls vs Century</p> <p><em><strong>Wednesday, January 20th</strong></em></p> <p>Snake River vs South Fremont</p> <p><em><strong>Thursday, January 21st</strong></em></p> <p>Thunder Ridge vs Madison</p> <p>Pocatello vs Century</p> <p>Preston vs Hillcrest</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>