Boys basketball

Malad 55, American Falls 38

    A close contest in the first quarter turned into a hard loss for American Falls in the second as Malad downed the Beavers 55-38.

    “We were playing good, and then we just stopped being confident,” said American Falls head coach David Ethington. “We stopped attacking the basket.”

    American Falls (0-6) plays Gooding Jan. 1.

Firth 58, West Side 38

    The West Side Pirates nearly dug themselves out of a 19-0 hole sustained in the first quarter, but it proved to be to steep as Firth cruised to a 58-38 victory.

    “The first quarter killed us,” said West Side head coach Tyler Brown. "They came out on fire. But give my kids credit. We cut it to six in the second half.”

    West Side (1-3) heads to Rich (Utah) Dec. 28.

Raft River 62, Rockland 40

    Though Rex Permann led his Bulldogs with a double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds), Rockland wasn’t able to overcome Raft River in a 62-60 loss.

    “It just teaches us that we need to be tougher with the ball,” said Rockland head coach Scott Lish.

    Raft River was tough around the basket, out-rebounding Rockland 40-27.

Bear Lake 39, Soda Springs 37

    The scoring didn’t come until the fourth quarter, and for Bear Lake, it was just enough to edge past Soda Springs 39-37.

    Bear Lake’s Ryan Gunderson had a game-high 16 points.

    The Bears (3-2) host Preston today.    

Bonneville 66, Blackfoot 59

    A tie game heading into the fourth quarter gave way to a 66-59 Bonneville win over Blackfoot.

    Blackfoot’s McKye Watt led the way for the Broncos with 18 points. Aaron Vail wasn’t far behind with 14. But it wasn’t enough. Bonneville’s Jared Stutzman scored a game-high 31 points to help lift the Bees.

Girls basketball

Highland 52, Mountain Crest 41

    In a tight game, Highland relied on its defense.    

    Leading 25-20 at halftime, the Rams opened up in the third quarter with a full-court press to pull away from Mountain Crest (Utah) 52-41 Wednesday in Hyrum, Utah.

    "We created some offense with our defense," said Highland head coach Tony Green. "We got up pretty quick and went on a 7-0, 8-0 run to start the third quarter."

    Maren Herrud led the Rams with 16. Timmie Bowie had 13 and Emily Hancock added nine.

    Highland (8-1, 3-0 5A 5-6 District) is off until after the Christmas break.

Shelley 44, Marsh Valley 43

    Up by four heading into the fourth quarter, Shelley did just enough to ward off a threatening Marsh Valley squad, 44-43.

    Shelley’s Ashland Yancey was fouled underneath the basket with less than 30 seconds left. The basket counted, and Yancey drained the free throw to help the Russets put the game out of reach.

    But the Eagles were nipping at Shelley’s heels the whole way.

    “We made plays down the stretch,” said Shelley head coach Burke Davis. “We had a lot of momentum in the first half, and I think we put that car in cruise control.”

    Marsh Valley’s Faith Lolofie led the attack for the Eagles with 10 points.

    Shelley (2-7) hosts Firth Saturday. Marsh Valley (4-5) travels to Soda Springs Friday.

Aberdeen 63, West Side 60, OT

    Aberdeen’s first win of the season came by a 63-60 overtime thriller against West Side.

    Makenna Schritter’s 17 points for the Tigers helped lift Aberdeen over the Pirates. Aberdeen head coach Karalee Bonzon hopes the win can instill some momentum into her squad.

    “It was a big win,” she said. “It was a big change for the girls to finally come out with a win, and it will hopefully lift their spirits.”

    Aberdeen (1-7) will look to extend the winning streak as it travels to Bear Lake Friday.

Ririe 60, Firth 57

    A lightning-quick shooting display in the fourth quarter still wasn’t enough to make the comeback against Ririe as the Firth Cougars fell 60-57.

    Firth’s Bailey Nelson had 16 points but was overshadowed by Sicilee Williams’ 20 points for Ririe as the Bulldogs held off the Cougars, who were down by 15 in the third quarter.

    “I thought we did a really good job of not folding when we got down,” said Firth head coach Sharla Cook. “Ririe’s a great team. Williams shot so well.”

    Firth (7-2) hosts North Fremont Friday.