Hornets sting Maniacs in state tourney

The eighth-seeded Orofino Maniacs were unable to outmatch the favored Declo Hornets in the Idaho 3A boys basketball state tournament, falling 67-47 in the first round Thursday at Capital High in Boise.

The No. 1 seed Hornets (24-1) capitalized on a 24-0 run during the second and third quarters to push them ahead in the matchup.

The Maniacs (9-13) made a push in the first quarter when shots were falling offensively. They made multiple 3-pointers and were able to somewhat silence the Declo offense. At the end of the first quarter, Orofino led 15-12.

There was an obvious push to try to out-hustle Declo during the first quarter, when Orofino was fighting for loose balls and grabbing difficult rebounds. Orofino coach Rocky Barlow said that this was a major focus before the game.

“There was a focus on hustle pregame. We knew we had to keep them off the board, that’s kind of their strength,” Barlow said. “They rely on rebounding and getting shots on the rim. We tried to prevent it.

“We did a pretty good job early, but just their size and their strength — our kids kind of ran out of gas.”

After the Maniacs ran out of gas, that’s when the 24-0 run took place for the Hornets. Emmett Gibby led the way for Declo with 26 points, leading all scorers in the game. He also pulled in 14 total rebounds, leading all rebounders in the game, including a crucial nine offensive rebounds.

Declo dominated around the glass, collecting a total of 50 rebounds, with 29 of those being offensive, resulting in 31 second-chance points.

Barlow said that the rebounding was simply too much to overcome.

“It was all them rebounding,” Barlow said. “I don’t think I’ve seen numbers like that before.”

The leading scorer for Orofino was Hudson Schneider, who scored 11 total points and hit three 3-pointers. After the first quarter, Orofino stopped moving the ball as much offensively. It was difficult for the Maniacs to get anything going.

“That’s how this game started out: We jumped out to a lead and things were looking pretty good and then once the pace of the game shifted, it was back to the ‘my turn’ attitude on offense, and we weren’t working together. We just started to throw shots up,” Barlow said.

The matchup was a dominant performance for the top-seeded Hornets as they led in most statistics. Declo forced 18 personal fouls by the Maniacs and converted on 17 of its 22 free-throw attempts. It grabbed nearly 70% of the game’s total rebounds and scored 26 points in the paint.

Heading into State, Orofino won the district title for the first time in 17 years. After it started the season 4-12, it won five straight games.

This run came to an end against Declo — however, the season is not over for the Maniacs. They will face Soda Springs in the first round of the consolation bracket today at 1 p.m. Pacific back at Capital High.

OROFINO (9-13)

Jake Runia 4 0-0 10 , Nick Bonner 2 2-6 6, Hudson Schneider 4 0-1 11, Landon Burnette 1 0-0 2, Landon Conley 1 0-0 2, Blake Barlow 2 0-0 6, Aiden Olive 1 2-2 4, Quinton Naranjo 3 0-0 6. Totals 18 4-9 47.

DECLO (24-1)

Carter Robinson 2 5-6 10, Dane Garrard 0 0-0 0, Landon Silcock 0 0-0 0, Joey Garrard 1 2-2 4, Kyle Bott 1 0-0 3, Emmett Gibby 10 6-6 26, Gage Sorensen 0 0-0 0, Zane Snedaker 0 0-0 0, Dacx Garrard 0 0-0 0, Gavin Rasmussem 5 0-2 11, Parker Heward 2 1-2 5, Paxton Matsen 0 0-0 0, Zaid Rogers 0 0-0 0, Dodge Edgar 1 3-4 5, Kevyn Rios 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 17-22 67.

Orofino 15 7 13 12—47

Declo 12 15 21 19—67

3-point goals — Schneider 3, Runia 2, Barlow 2, Robinson, Bott, Rasmussem, Rios.

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.