POCATELLO – A lot has happened in two short weeks with the Pocatello High boys basketball team.

And none of it was good until Friday, when the Indians demonstrably got back on track with a dominant 55-38 home win over Twin Falls, ending a five-game losing streak that lasted 14 days.

“It kind of felt like we haven’t won in forever,” Pocatello coach Joe Green said. “We came out a little more relaxed, weren’t pressing so much. So it feels good. The kids played really hard and did enough to win tonight.”

Poky (11-7, 10-5 4A District 4-5) never fell behind against the Bruins and went ahead for good in the final seconds of the opening quarter, when senior Isaac Brown dribbled up to the 3-point line and knocked down a triple to put his team ahead 14-11.

The matchup had major stakes in the district standings, as both teams are in the middle of the pack and the game counted as two conference wins for Poky and two league losses for Twin Falls since they only meet once in the regular season.

To snag the critical victory, the Indians did what got them to 10-2 to start the season, delivering stout defensive play.

Twin Falls (7-10, 5-10) tied for its lowest scoring output of the season (38) — Pocatello’s fourth-fewest points allowed this season.

“I believe we played great defense tonight,” Brown said. “We were able to get up and pressure them and just make them uncomfortable, which is a big thing for us.”

The Bruins scored three points in the first five minutes of the game, a juncture in which they were called for a 5-second violation and a push-off foul – both beyond the arc.

Twin Falls was frazzled offensively by the second quarter, charged with traveling violations on three consecutive possessions.

To end the first half, sophomore Jaxon Williams scored six of Pocatello’s final 10 points – starting with a put-back – to give the Indians a 29-23 lead.

The Indians’ lead was never larger than seven in the first half, but then their defensive success reached another level as they allowed six and nine points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

Pocatello’s Ryan Payne leaped in front of a pass at midcourt and tossed the ball up to Jadyn Downs, who made a layup while being fouled and converted a free throw to put Poky up by double digits for the first time at 37-26 in the middle of the third quarter.

That was part of a 40-second stretch in which Downs accounted for all eight points scored.

From Downs to Williams, everyone had their moments offensively. So it was justified that three players tied for a team-high 12 points – Downs, Brown and Kaden Hales.

But again, it was the return of Pocatello’s defensive identity that meant the return to the win column.

In that area, Green said Downs was at the forefront.

“He just did a great job tipping a lot of their passes,” Green said. “Other guys got the steals, but he ended up tipping them. He does a really good job with that. That helped us. We got out and got some easy buckets.”

Pocatello led its conference in scoring defense before its five-game losing streak, which began Jan. 17 at Preston.

Brown injured his shoulder at Preston and had to sit out two games. On Friday, there was pause when he took a hard foul, falling into the back wall in the fourth quarter while attempting a layup.

The guard held his right shoulder after getting up, but when he was asked about it, he said it was already injured anyway and that “only made it a little bit worse.”

This is the senior’s last chance to play for the Indians, so he is going to maximize his time on the hardwood.

He is happy to do battle with this Pocatello team.

“We’ve been a good team the whole time. We’ve just gone through some struggles, so it’s just getting back to our roots,” Brown said. “We’re just a band of brothers. We need to work hard, be scrappy. We’re just playing together.”

Up next

Pocatello plays Wednesday at Burley.

POCATELLO 55, TWIN FALLS 38

Twin Falls 11 12 6 9 — 38

Pocatello 14 15 13 13 — 55

Twin Falls – Walker 9, Emery 5, Ball 5, Swensen 7, Swafford 7, Schnoor 3, Robbins 2.

Pocatello – Payne 4, Brown 12, Williams 6, Hales 12, Hale 5, Ney 4, Downs 12.