Watersrprings leads from start to finish, dominating Grace Lutheran on the road - East Idaho News
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Watersrprings leads from start to finish, dominating Grace Lutheran on the road

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POCATELLO — Grace Lutheran, looking to right the ship after losing two of three following the Christmas break, hosted Watersprings for a conference tilt between 1A contenders.

But it was not to be, as the Warriors got a 3-pointer from from senior Jonny Thienes less than 20 seconds into the game, and held that lead until the final buzzer sounded on a 67-38 Warriors victory.

Behind junior Ely Sauer, the Royals (6-3, 1-3) ended the first half on an eight-to-two run to cut the lead to 12. But Watersprings (10-1, 4-0) scored the first 13 points of the second half, essentially putting the contest to bed at the midway point of the third quarter.

Head coach Evan Bindenagel said his team executed its gameplan for stretches, but suffered lapses allowing Grace Lutheran to make several runs — like the one orchestrated by Sauer.

“We just really want to play a full four quarters, that’s what I want,” he said, admitting that he was being hypercritical after a game in which his team dominated from start to finish. “They came out, they played hard and ran hard — really proud of our team.”

Bindenagel and the Warriors leaned heavily on their 6-foot-10 big man, Titus Driver, and the senior provided, finishing with game highs in points (20), rebounds (18) and blocks (3).

“When Titus is there, and he’s going, Titus is the driving force of the team,” the coach said. “He carries us on his back. Dude’s a stud.”

Watersprings Grace Lutheran boys basketball
Titus Driver (34) finishes the put-back layup through the foul. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Missing their own big man, junior Garrett Grayson — who suffered an ankle injury in the team’s first loss of the season, against North Gem on Jan. 3 — the Royals did not have an answer for Driver. They used two, and some times three defenders, in hopes of keeping Watersprings’ center out of the paint, but his combination of size, footwork and soft hands made stopping Driver difficult.

He had recorded a double-double — 12 points and 10 rebounds — in the first half before seeing some solid stretches of rest in the second half.

Grace Lutheran made it a game toward the end of the second quarter when Sauer got hot.

The junior made a pair of triples, adding a steal and layup in the closing minutes of the first half turning a 32-14 deficit into a much more respectable 34-22 game.

Senior Matt Kinoshita and junior Korban Nelson had other plans though, scoring four apiece as Watersprings sprinted out of the halftime break to claim a 47-22 advantage.

The 13-0 run was finally halted when Royals coach Jeremey Hess called a timeout with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter.

Kinoshita finished the night with 12 points, seven rebounds and a steal, while Nelson added eight points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block.

Grace Lutheran was led by Sauer, who finished with 17 points, one rebound, one block and five steals.

Watersprings Grace Lutheran boys basketball
Ely Sauer (3) draws several defenders as he drives, and dishes to an open teammate during the second half of Grace Lutheran’s loss to Watersprings Tuesday. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Bindenagel explained after the game why he has been “hypercritical” of his team.

“We want to be elite so we’re going to hold them to that standard,” he said. … “I’ve got big aspirations for this group, and they’ve got big aspirations for themselves.”

He said that a dominant win over a team that has been among the top of the conference standings will help his squad “build some confidence” as it enters “a grind” that is the final three weeks of the season.

“It’s just, keeping it going,” he said. “We’ve got some big, big games coming up — Rockland comes to town next week. … It’s important to enjoy these wins, and we do, we celebrate every win. We need these wins to keep coming.”

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