Diggers bury history

SUGAR CITY -- The Sugar-Salem Diggers already had their hands full before falling behind 11-0 to the Shelley Russets.

After all, Shelley had won 62 of its last 63 conference games, including district tournaments. Not only that, the Russets' Tanner Higham, the leading scorer in eastern Idaho, hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter and was on his way to a big game.

But Sugar-Salem played masterful team basketball, dominating the final 29 minutes and running away with a 68-54 win at home.

Brennan Bean led Sugar-Salem with 19 points. Generously listed at 6-foot and not particularly long-limbed, Bean played beyond his dimensions, scrapping for rebounds and position to score in the paint.

"It's a huge win," Bean said. "They are a great team. That win gives us the confidence to go after it at districts, to be the aggressors."

Sugar-Salem and Shelley split its conference games. If Sugar-Salem (17-2, 6-1) beats Teton and Shelley (11-8, 6-1) beats South Fremont on Friday, the tie for the top seed in the district tournament will be determined by a coin flip.

Tanner Higham lit up Sugar-Salem for 23 points in the first half on 6-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line. Sugar-Salem sent Tyler Rhoton and sometimes a second defender to hound Higham the length of the floor. Higham, who finished with 28 points, spent the second half rotating the ball.

Shelley coach Dave Hadley said the rest of the team failed to be assertive when Sugar-Salem forced the ball from Higham's hands.

"They had great composure, and we lost some of our composure," Hadley said. "We were very, very passive. They put two guys on Tanner to not allow him to bring the ball up, and we didn't do a good job of attacking."

All of the Diggers contributed. Guard Kevin Walker hit three 3s and finished with 11. Bryden Morris loomed large in the paint, scoring 17 and leading the team with six rebounds. Forward Caleb Brown scored 11. Sugar-Salem's primary ballhandlers, Brett Miyasaki and Kyle Andrews, combined for 13 assists and two turnovers.

Often, bench production manifests in hustle plays that don't show up in the box score. Against Shelley, the bench's contribution was tangible, outscoring the Shelley reserves 36-2.

Hadley said his team started dragging its heels when Sugar-Salem surged and took the lead in the second quarter.

"When things are going well, it's easy to fight through those little mistakes," Hadley said. "Tonight, we felt sorry for ourselves. Sugar outplayed us and outcoached us tonight."

The first thing Sugar-Salem coach Jay Miller had to say after the game had nothing to do with basketball.

Sugar-Salem is collecting money for a scholarship to honor Darla Miyasaki, a teacher and the mother of Brett Miyasaki, who lost her life to a stroke over winter break.

Before the game, Hadley presented Brett Miyasaki with a brown bag containing $214 the Shelley team had scraped together that day to contribute to the scholarship fund.

"What an absolute class act by Dave Hadley the team and the Shelley fans," Miller said. "What a neat deal to come up like that."

"This is what we've expected from the beginning. There are several teams that can battle. It's going to be a crazy tournament come next week."