Rockland shuts down explosive Dietrich offense to claim battle of top 1A teams

ROCKLAND — Rockalnd and Dietrich have been the top two teams in 1A boys basketball for most of the season. From the early media polls, the two have been battling for No. 1 votes — with the Bulldogs getting the majority every poll thus far.

After Friday, there are no questions which team is better — at least for now.

The Bulldogs (12-1, 5-0) used dominant defense and solid rebounding to hold one of the state’s highest-scoring teams to a season-low, beating the Blue Devils (11-2, 6-0), 63-43.

But they did not get off to the start they wanted. Trailing early, head coach Shae Neal called for a timeout, the entirety of which he repeated to his team that they needed to be better about boxing out and battling for boards.

After the game, he said he was happy with how the team responded.

“That was the No. 1 staple on our keys to victory: rebound and defend,” Neal told EastIdahoSports.com. “I knew we’d have to play tough defense to stop a team that averages close to 80 points a game.”

Shae Neal challenges his team to be better rebounders. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Rebounding effort immediately improved out of the timeout, led by senior Hayden Smith, who finished with 10 rebounds, four points and two steals, and junior Woodrow Lowder.

The sharpshooting guard finished with a game-high 16 rebounds. And on an off-shooting night, he added 16 points and two steals.

Neal agreed that it was a down night for Lowder’s shooting stroke, but said that among Lowder’s strengths is the understanding that, when the shot isn’t falling, he needs to find other ways to score. And, of course, he has the ability to do so.

“The thing that starts Woodrow is his defense,” Neal said. “Once he started getting rebounds and playing tough defense, he found that energy and started finding that confidence.”

Perhaps the smallest player on the court — for either team — senior Aidan Radford also took rebounding as a personal challenge. He finished with a game-high 17 points, along with nine rebounds and three steals.

Radford, Neal said, saw very little court time as a freshman — “he was about 4-foot-nothing,” the coach joked — but has grown into a star.

“The guy has dawg in him — straight dawg,” Neal said. “He’s become one of our leaders, a guy we can count on. … We just turn the little man loose and let him go.”

Aidan Radford lets out a yell as he passes through a tunnel of fans and students following the win. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Neal said, given Dietrich’s offensive prowess, the game never felt in hand. They are a team that can turn a deficit into a 20-point lead in mere minutes, he added. So he was surprised when he looked up at the scoreboard late in the fourth and saw that his team was ahead by 16.

Radford was a big reason for the surprising lead.

The senior took over down the stretch, at one point scoring sever straight Rockland points — wrapped around a pair of Blue Devil free throws — pushing the lead from 12 to 17. In the midst of that run, Radford hit a 3-pointer while being fouled, sending the packed gym into hysterics.

In fact, the crowd was so loud, play continued momentarily as players on the court were unable to hear the official’s whistle.

Aidan Radford converts with a crafty finish, extending the Rockland lead in the second half. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Dietrich was led by the duo of Brody Torgerson, who finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and one steal, and Connor Perkins, who added 12 points, seven rebounds and one steal.

Neal said that in the locker room after the game, the team acknowledged that while this was a big win, it is, all things considered, meaningless. The win they are after, he said, is one that ends with the seniors hoisting a state championship trophy.

“Imagine that feeling you’re going to have, come Saturday in March, to have that blue trophy,” Neal told the team. “That’s always been the goal, with these guys.”

The Bulldogs will face another challenge Tuesday, when they travel to Watersprings to face 6-foot-10 Titus Driver and the 11-1 Warriors.

Which ever team wins that game will seize control of the 1A Rocky Mountain Conference, and likely the top spot on the 1A rankings.

Woodrow Lowder flies in for the offensive rebound and putback score during the second half of Rockland’s win. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com