Declo Hornets boys basketball team will use district loss as motivation at state
DECLO, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Idaho high school state boys basketball tournament is this weekend and the Declo Hornets are set to be the top overall seed in the 3A classification and we caught up with the team to hear more about how they are using a district tournament loss as motivation.
“Well, we’re very excited for the opportunity, right? I mean We’ve been here been in the tournament five of my nine years. This will be the sixth This one has a little different feel to it though Like this group of young men the way they work the way they fight We’ve fought through some adversity and persevered and so we’re thankful for the opportunity,” said Declo Head Coach Jacoby Fox.
The Hornets entered the district tournament with a perfect 20-0 record, but in round one against Soda Springs a few weeks ago, Declo took loss number one in a 48-44 defeat.
“Honestly, we just came out too slow, like we couldn’t make a shot coming out and then we started playing good at the last two minutes, but it just wasn’t enough,” said senior guard Gavin Rasmussen.
With the loss the Hornets had to take the loser’s bracket route which included a win over Aberdeen and a very gutsy win over two-seed West Side to eliminate them.
These two wins sent Declo to the state play-in game where they defeated West Jefferson 55-43 on Saturday to qualify for state and Rasmussen thinks this may have been for the best.
“I mean it kind of like grounded us, almost made it so we’re not like invincible or like we can’t lose. But honestly, it wasn’t a bad path to take because we were in a little bit of a slump So we kind of got back and going again. So I thought it wasn’t the end of the world for us,” Rasmussen said.
Despite not being a district champion, Declo will be entering as the top seed in the tournament and there is a hunger from the team, and more specifically their group of junior and senior boys, who have endured some tough losses in their high school sports careers.
“Our girls just one state for cheer and dance So that’s a pretty big step for us and I just think we all want it to be our turn. I mean, it’s been 20 years and we’ve lost to Westside in the state championship for football two years {in a row} and I think the boys are just ready to win something,” said junior point guard Zane Snedaker.
Declo has not won a state boys basketball championship since the 2002-03 season and senior Joey Garrard spoke about what a title would mean not only to Declo High School, but the entire community.
“All of our games the stadium’s been filled. So just us to bring the banner back home for our community I think it would help a lot,” Garrard said.
The Hornets will enter state with a 23-1 overall record and will matchup with the Orofino Maniacs in the first round on Thursday with tipoff set for 5:00 p.m. at Capital High School.
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