Bench energy propels Mountain View boys to 67-60 win over White River in 3A bi-district playoff

Mountain View didn’t have its best shooting night on Wednesday against White River.

But the Thunder’s ability to scrap for second- and third-chance opportunities proved pivotal in their 67-60 win over the Hornets to open the 3A bi-district tournament.

And the Thunder thanked their bench for that.

“Bench energy is a huge thing, I think, always in any game,” sophomore Jack Fournier said. “Once the bench is up, everybody’s up. As we were hitting the shots and everything started falling, the bench contributed a lot to that. We felt that energy, felt that moment and we kept on pushing.”

Fournier got 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, many on second-chance shots, as the Thunder built a 37-17 halftime lead.

Senior Tre’von Hughes-Farmer said the Mountain View bench can also contribute on the court, as the Thunder rotation goes eight and nine players deep.

“We just know that we can give our all,” Hughes-Farmer said. “We’ve got players ready to go. We’ve got 1 through 13. We’re all ready to play.”

The Thunder pushed their advantage to 50-30 late in the third quarter before the Hornets were able to cut the lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter.

That’s when Hughes-Farmer provided a big play to spark the Thunder again.

With just two seconds left on the shot clock, Malcom Weatherspoon lobbed the ball perfectly to Hughes-Farmer, who leaped and tapped the ball into hoops with one hand as he fell to the court.

“That’s exactly how we drew it up,” Hughes-Farmer said. “They were on me more than I thought, but man, I just tipped it up. I didn’t really see it go in, but I heard the crowd. And we built momentum for there.”

Weatherspoon scored 13 points for Mountain View, Luke Swerdlik had 10 points and Hughes-Farmer finished with eight points.

Mountain View (14-7) now advances to play at top-seeded Auburn Mountainview (20-1) on Friday.

And the Thunder will look to take that same energy with them.

“It’s a whole new season in the playoffs,” Hughes-Farmer said. “They’re the No. 1 seed, but we’re coming in trying to show them what’s up.”

MOUNTAIN VIEW 67, WHITE RIVER 60

WHITE RIVER — Jorden Goethals 2, Greg Schmitz 12, Ray Palmer 3, Ben Berg 7, Blake Caldwell 9, Jacob Scheidt 4, Zach Wisdom 0, Logan Senon 19, Blake Bargelt 4. Totals 22 (9) 7-8 60.

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Theo Sheron 4,  Tre’von Hughes-Farmer 8, John Chancellor 2, Malcolm Weatherspoon 13, Luke Swerdlik 10, Carter Soucy 0, Mikey Tran 0, Dom Vargas 0, Auzzi Ashdown 9, Ayden Cummings 0, Jack Fournier 20, Trey Johnson 1. Totals 25 (3) 14-22 67.

Wh. River         9             8             22          21—60

Mt. View           18          19          13          17—67