Thrillers were on display highlighted by a Buzzer-Beater

<p>Crunch-time basketball was in full-effect this past weekend highlighted with a buzzer beater by [player_tooltip player_id="969492" first="Bryler" last="Shurtliff"] from West Side. Free-throws, turnovers and clutch play-making stole the show this weekend in the Idaho Falls Metro. Let’s take a look at some of those latest results. </p> <p><strong>Jan. 22</strong></p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="969492" first="Bryler" last="Shurtliff"] lifts West Side over Marsh Valley at the Buzzer</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For all eyes following the play, it must have seemed as if the 6-foot-3 West Side junior teleported to the hoop.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Everyone was watching the ball, tracking it when Pirates guard Blaize Brown kicked it out to Ryan Lemmon for the last-second shot from three. When Shurtliff caught it nine feet in the air and put it back up and, finally, when it slipped through the net.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shurtliff’s buzzer-beating putback lifted West Side a 47-45 victory at Marsh Valley on Friday while highlighting the duality of the Eagles’ struggles down the stretch with turnovers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shurtliff was held in check for a majority of the night and he still finished with a game-high 22 points. He can do it all, dribble, shoot, rebound, pass, the list is endless. </span></p> <p><em><strong>Rockland holds off Mackay with unsung heroes</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mackay took away Rockland’s top scoring options, which forced some other Bulldogs to step up. Two of them were Brigham Permann and Wes Matthews in Rockland’s 65-61 victory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brigham Permann  had 15 and Wes Matthews added 14 in the close win. Rockland showed depth with these two showcasing their scoring ability when it was needed like this past weekend. </span></p> <p><em><strong>Another North Gem Rout</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At Leadore, a quick start was all North Gem needed as the Cowboys put up another blowout this time the victim was Leadore where the score was 88-38. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="969916" first="Bridger" last="Hatch"] scored 26 points and [player_tooltip player_id="969907" first="Logan" last="Corta"] had 16 for North Gem, which led 29-11 after the first quarter.</span></p> <p>The game was never in doubt and North Gem is starting to round into form and besides playing Watersprings who have their number, they have been dominant this season. </p> <p><strong>Jan. 23</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Century nips Blackfoot in a thriller</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Defense was the story of the game and both teams went at it like there was no tomorrow. The players took charges time and time again and both teams hit the boards hard and points were at a premium.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the longest time, neither team could get the lead. Then Century got a basket and pulled ahead by two and Blackfoot then split free-throws which ended up being the difference in a 46-45 victory for Century. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="919705" first="Emmett" last="Holt"] was the story of the game keeping Century in the game by himself. He scored 24 for Century as they were able to hold off Blackfoot in a defensive slugfest. The forward was sensational with his perimeter shooting and driving to the rim. </span></p> <p><em><strong>Slow Start leads to surprise defeat for Pocatello</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At Thunder Ridge, Pocatello couldn’t overcome its slow start and suffered a 45-38 loss to Thunder Ridge. In a defensive slugfest where points were hard to come by the slow start should have </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pocatello freshman Julian Bowie had a game-high 20 points but Poky couldn’t recover from a 21-10 halftime deficit. </span></p> <p><strong>Games to Watch</strong></p> <p><em><strong>Jan. 26</strong></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marsh Valley vs Soda Springs</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">North Fremont vs Firth</span></p> <p><strong><em>Jan. 27</em></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Century vs Preston</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Madison vs Rigby</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mackay vs North Gem</span></p>