Cardinals Will Play For District Title

The Soda Springs boys basketball team will play for the district title Thursday night at home after a wild week one of district tournament play.  Anyone who has been following the district this season is well aware of how close all of the teams are with the lone exception being the Tigers from Aberdeen who have already been eliminated.  As we previously reported the Cardinals entered the tournament as the number three seed giving them an easy first round game against Aberdeen.  The Cardinals cruised in that game advancing them to the semi finals against West Side.  West Side got a free pass to the semi final game by virtue of securing the number two seed and earning a first round bye.  In their two regular season match ups the Cardinals and the Pirates each won on the other's home court in a somewhat dominating fashion.  The Cardinals went into last week's semi final game hoping to continue that trend as the game was set to take place at West Side high school.  The game wound up being a thrilling back and forth affair that would come down to the last few possessions of the game. 

As the game got underway the offense did not come quickly for the Cardinals.  Preston Ozburn was a spark for the offense hitting a pair of first quarter three’s but not much was happening on that side of the court.  The defense however was playing especially well.  The Cardinals speed and quick hands helped keep Soda Springs in the game while their offense was still warming up.  At the end of the first quarter the Pirates held a slim two point lead over the Cardinals as the game was shaping up to be a battle.  The second quarter was a near mirror image of the first.  The score stayed tight as the defenses continued to outshine the offense.  The Pirates once again outscored the Cardinals by two extending their lead to four going into the half.  As the third quarter opened up Cooper Thompson took over the game.  A pair of quick three’s from Thompson gave the Cardinals their first lead since very early in the game.  In just over two minutes of game time the Cardinals had ripped off eleven points matching their entire first quarter output.  The Cardinals continued to build a lead that eventually reached thirteen points.  Soda Springs was rolling and looking like they may run away with the game.  Unfortunately that is when the Cardinals went cold.  The Pirates would finish the third quarter on an 8-0 run and cut the Cardinals lead to just five.  In the fourth quarter the Pirates continued their comeback bid while the Cardinals cold shooting continued.  The Pirates' run eventually regained them the lead.  With under four minutes to play in the game the Cardinals finally scored their first point in over six minutes of game time.  Over the next two minutes the teams went back and forth with several repeated ties.  A big three point shot by the Pirates followed immediately by an unforced turnover gave the West Side a five point lead.  The Cardinals were able to answer back and cut the lead to just three.  With less than thirty seconds left in the game the Cardinals had the ball back.  As the clock ticked down to thirteen seconds Landon Martinsen was sent to the foul line where he hit two clutch free throws to cut the lead to just one.  On the ensuing inbound Gavin Hansen came up with a steal and was fouled.  Hansen had been zero out of five from the foul line in the game up to that point.  This time Hansen was able to knock down both shots and give the Cardinals the lead with just seconds left.  The Pirates inbounded the ball and promptly threw it out of bounds, turning it over to the Cardinals.  The Cardinals inbounded the ball and Thompson was immediately fouled and sent to the line.  Cooper, like his two teammates, knocked down both of his shots giving Soda Springs a three point lead.  The last second desperation heave by the Pirates failed to connect and the Cardinals escaped with the win.

That win has earned the Cardinals a spot in the district title game which is set to take place in Soda Springs on Thursday night.  The other side of the bracket saw an upset with number four seeded Declo knocking off the one seeded Trojans from Wendell.  This sets up the Cardinals playing the Hornets for the title.  Like they did with West Side, the Cardinals split the regular season meetings with Declo with each team winning on the other's home court.  Soda Springs will hope to break that trend on Thursday.  In the case of a loss the Cardinals will still have a chance to qualify for state if they can win their next game which would be against West Side, Malad or Wendell.

On Thursday night the Bird Nest will be rocking so make sure you get out to the game and watch the Cardinals go for the title. 

Cardinals 11 10 20 15 56

Pirates 13 12 11 17 53

C. Thompson 26, G. Hansen 8, P. Ozburn 6, K. McWilliams 4, J. Horsley 3, M. Browning 5, L. Martinsen 4