1A D2 STATE BOYS BASKETBALL: Rockland rallies late to steal game from Clark Fork

Rockland 63, Clark Fork 46

CALDWELL — The Wampus Cats lost a hard-fought battle against Rockland, 62-44 in a 1A D2 IHSAA State Tournament loser-out game held Friday afternoon at Caldwell High.

Clark Fork led by two points after the first quarter, and then only trailed by four at halftime, as both teams continued to trade buckets. In the second half, the Wampus Cats fell cold, only scoring 16 points compared to the Bulldogs’ 29.

“We went in there and stuck with our gameplan,” head coach Heath Beason said. “Camas really ran out our legs. We played really well, but we had moments where our legs were just rubber and just missed that extra pass or didn’t find the guy down below.”

Beason said the Wampus Cats tried a full-court press to change things up, but Rockland was able to keep up with the pace.

“Overall, we played pretty well,” Beason said. “I have to give it to our boys. It was one of the best games we had this year. There were a lot of people in the gym rooting for us to pull it off.”

Seth Caven led the Wampus Cats with 13 points and six rebounds. Ethan Howard, Cole Sanroman, and Owen Howard all added eight points each. Chase Sanroman led Clark Fork in assists with six, Everett Montgomery in steals with three.

“Seth and Arrow (Christofferson) played a heck of a defensive game, limiting Teague Matthews to only 15 points today,” Beason said. “All of these seniors put the team on their back and played together this year. I wish we could have brought something home to finish out their career at Clark Fork.”

Matthews, who is committed to the University of Utah for football, had 15 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks, and five steals for the Bulldogs. Woodrow Lowder led Rockland in scoring with 16 points.

Clark Fork finished their season 13-8 and have now appeared in the state tournament in three of the last four years.

“This was a team that I will never forget,” Beason said. “It’s been awesome watching them grow over the years.”

Clark Fork 15 15 8 8 – 46

Rockland 13 21 12 17 — 63

PTS: CF – S. Caven 13, E. Howard 8, Co. Sanroman 8, O. Howard 8, Montgomery 6, Christoferson 2, W. Caven 1, Cruz 0, Yanik 0, Holderman 0, Stevens 0. RLD – Lowder 16, Matthews 15, A. Held 11. Radford 8, Hendrickson 8, Parrish 5, Smith 0.

REB: CF – E. Howard 9, Montgomery 7, S. Caven 6, O. Howard 4, Ch. Sanroman 3, Co. Sanroman 3, Christofferson 1, W. Caven 1. RLD – Matthews 17, Hendrickson 5, Smith 3, Lowder 3, Parrish 2, A. Held 1, I. Held 1.

AST: CF – Ch. Sanroman 6, Co. Sanroman 3, Montgomery 1, E. Howard 1. RLD – Matthews 3, Lowder 2, Hendrickson 2, Parrish 2, I. Held 2, A. Held 1.

STL: CF – Montgomery 3, Co. Sanroman 2, W. Caven 1, Ch. Sanroman 1. RLD – Matthews 5, Radford 1, A. Held 1.

BLK: CF – E. Howard 1, O. Howard 1. RLD – Matthews 4, Hendrickson 2.