STATE 3A BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP: At last — Bonners Ferry captures first state boys basketball title

NAMPA — With 5.7 seconds left and the crowd sensing what was coming, Trey Bateman walked across the free-throw lane and slapped the hand of his cousin, Thomas Bateman.

Then, Trey turned and slapped the hand of Asher Williams, standing at the foul line.

Asher Williams let out a smile.

Because at long last, the Bonners Ferry Badgers were state 3A champions in boys basketball, after a 54-47 victory over Teton on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Idaho Center.

“It’s huge; it’s just an amazing feeling,” Bonners junior Thomas Bateman said. “And I really have to give it all to our coach. He started it when we were in third grade, and he’s been pushing us for this moment. And it paid off.”

“It’s unbelievable,” said Badger senior Trey Bateman, Thomas’ cousin. “We fought; we’ve earned it, we’ve done everything we can as a basketball team. Mr. Williams (Nathan, the Bonners coach) has helped us so much throughout life and basketball. My brothers (Brady and Seth) won a state championship in baseball in 2018, and that was so huge for our community, and it showed. We are unbelievably grateful and blessed to have this state championship here.”

It’s the first state championship in boys basketball for second-seeded Bonners Ferry (22-3), the culmination of four straight trips to state under Nathan Williams, in his fourth year as coach. Last year, the Badgers reached the title game for the first time in program history, losing to Sugar-Salem. This year, Sugar-Salem didn't make it to the tournament and top-seeded Snake River was upended by fifth-seeded Teton (18-8) in the semifinals.

“It’s just crazy; we been working since third grade, going to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene for tournaments with this group of guys, and it’s just amazing that it finally paid off,” said junior guard Asher Williams, the reigning 3A Player of the Year, who finished with 15 points despite serious foul trouble. 

“We’ve been working with these kids since third, fourth, fifth grade, and it finally paid off,” Nathan Williams said. “The whole process has been completely amazing.”

Asher Williams came into state averaging 29 points per game. But he picked up two quick fouls, then was whistled for his third in the second quarter. He was called for his fourth foul, on a charge, with 3:34 left in the third quarter. He sat the rest of the quarter, then played the entire fourth quarter without fouling.

“It was breaking my heart, honestly, as a dad,” Nathan Williams said. “You’re always wearing two hats, as a coach and a dad. But I know Asher has worked his butt off his whole life to get to this moment. But when he’s out, other boys have to step up, and we had some kids step up.”

Among them: junior Brody Rice, with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Peyton Hinthorn, with four points and three assists. Senior Wyatt Smith, with a clutch 3-pointer and five points. And junior Eli Blackmore, with four points.

“It’s always a worry when Asher goes out, but we were able to handle ourselves,” Thomas Bateman said. 

“They stepped up — just what we needed to win,” Asher Williams said.

“That was Asher’s first game in foul trouble, and it was just a shock,” Trey Bateman said. “We’re just lucky to have so many guys that can score the ball and step up.”

Bonners led by as much as 10 points in the third quarter before Asher Williams sat down with his fourth. With Teton big man Tyson Brown scoring 20 of his 27 points in the second half, the Timberwolves cut the Bonners lead to 34-33 after three quarters.

Even after Asher Williams returned, the lead went back and fourth, and Teton took the lead at 47-44 when senior Kaiden Hastings drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing with just over 4 minutes left.

Bonners Ferry called timeout to regroup, and responded by scoring the next nine points to take control of the game. 

Rice sank two free throws, then Thomas Bateman stuck a 3 from the left wing with two and a half minutes left to give the Badgers a lead they would never relinquish. 

Rice fed Asher Williams in the lane with an inbounds pass for another bucket, and Williams fed Rice for the clinching layup with 25 seconds left.

“I think that Thomas’ 3 really changed the dynamic there,” Asher Williams said. 

“Whenever I’m open for a 3, I like to take it, but that was a big moment for me,” Thomas Bateman said. “There’s got to be a big moment, right? When I got that pass, it was like, ‘I’ve got to hit it.’”

Thomas Bateman finished with nine points and seven rebounds for Bonners Ferry. Trey Bateman had six points, nine rebounds and three assists, and it seemed like every time there was a loose ball, it was Trey Bateman who came up with it.

After taking the lead, Teton melted down in the closing minutes, a combination of missed shots and turnovers over seven straight possessions.

“I think we just ran out of gas,” eighth-year Teton coach Rob Heuseveldt said. “The boys gave a tremendous effort to fight back into the game, and Bonners Ferry took care of business. Our nerves caught us at the very beginning, this is a pretty big stage, Bonners Ferry has experience playing here before, I think that helped them. They were better on defense than we anticipated. They really filled some shoes when Asher was out of the game.”

“Any time you play three games in three nights, we were here last year, and we ran out of steam,” Nathan Williams said. “Two weeks ago I was conditioning them, and I said, ‘This will pay off in two weeks.’ The boys’ hard work really paid off.”

“And last year, being in that tunnel (before the title game), I was literally shaking as a coach,” Williams added. “This year, I was fine. And I think our whole team, just being there once, really made a difference.”

Teton    6    12    15    14    —    47

Bonners Ferry    8    16    10    20    —    54

TETON — B. Nelson 0, J. Nelson 3, Murdock 0, Hastings 13, Heuseveldt 4, Streit 0, Brown 27, Kaufman 0. Totals 19-38 5-14 47.

BONNERS FERRY — Blackmore 4, Rice 11, Smith 5, Hinthorn 4, Williams 15, Th. Bateman 9, Tr. Bateman 6. Totals 22-52 7-12 54.

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Bonners Ferry junior guard Asher Williams splits the Teton defense during Saturday's state 3A boys basketball championship game at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.