Snake River celebrates milestone from star senior, massive conference victory

BLACKFOOT — A game that began with Snake River senior Marcus Coombs being honored for a rare achievement, ended with a clutch 3-pointer from Dawson Jackman giving the Panthers a dogfight victory over conference foe American Falls Wednesday.

Coombs became the Snake River boys basketball program’s all-time leading scorer “a couple weeks ago” when he passed Lance Hansen, according to Robert Coombs, who has been head coach at Snake River since 1993. But Robert and his staff decided to wait until Marcus became the school’s first ever 1,500-point scorer before they honored the achievement.

With a slick post move to beat American Falls’ Austin Adair, Marcus scored his third and fourth points of the night six minutes and 30 seconds into the game, giving him his 1,500th varsity point. Robert took a timeout immediately after the score to hand his son a plaque and allow the home crowd to shower the senior with praise.

“I’m really excited for Marcus,” Robert said after the game. “I’m a proud dad, I guess, because I’ve had a lot of really good players come through here … and he’s scored more points than any of them. I’m proud as a dad.”

Marcus said he was happy to share the moment with his team, coaches and the school’s many supporters in attendance.

“It’s a blessing, man,” he said. “I’m so glad to have all my teammates and family here — this community, it’s something you’ll never see. I’m so happy to be supported by these guys. It’s a blessing.”

Marcus finished with a game-high 22 points, to go along with nine rebounds and a steal. But for much of the contest, the Beavers (13-5, 1-2) looked like they were going to spoil his night.

Led by junior Zak Grigg, American Falls held an advantage heading into the third quarter, and never let the Panthers (17-1, 3-0) take control when they battled back ahead several times in the second half.

When Snake River put together a little run, on buckets from Marcus and Bridjer Howard early in the fourth, the Beavers turned what had become a six-point deficit into a three-point lead with a nine-point run of their own — the last four of which coming from Grigg.

Grigg finished with 15 points, two rebounds and three steals.

American Falls junior Zak Grigg (4) attacks the paint against Snake River senior Spencer Anderson during the Panthers’ 48-45 victory at Snake River High School, Wednesday. | Courtesy photo

But Coombs would not let his shine be stolen. He ended the run with a two-for-two trip to the free throw line, then followed with a steal and breakaway dunk. He finished his personal 6-0 run with a his final bucket of the night with less than two minutes remaining, giving his team a 45-42 lead.

More stingy defense from both teams, which was the theme much of the night, took the clock under 30 seconds with the Panthers clinging to a 45-43 advantage. And that was when Snake River’s Mr. Clutch showed up.

Dribbling down the shot clock at the top of the key, Jackman patiently waited as the home crowd chanted “5-4-3-2.” With just two second showing on the shot clock, the senior hoisted from 25 feet and drained the dagger 3.

“That was a big shot,” Robert said. “He let (the clock) run all the way down, then stepped up and hit it. It’s nice to have him because he’s one of those kids that can just find a way to win it at the end.”

Jackman has developed a knack for knocking down the big shot, and he added to his list of money buckets Wednesday night. He finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.

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Down five and with only one more guaranteed possession, American Falls took several off-target 3-pointers before Adair went after a little revenge. The 6-foot-2 Adair went up with the 6-foot-5 Coombs and dunked on him through contact for an and-1 opportunity.

Following the monster flush, Adair let out a impassioned scream in Coombs’ face. Coombs responded by smiling and pointing to the scoreboard. Snake River still led, 48-45, and there was just 2.6 seconds remaining.

Adair attempted the intentionally missed free throw, but did not hit rim and was called for a violation. Jackman took the inbounding pass and escaped the quick foul attempt before letting the clock run down to zeroes.

“That win sets the tone for the rest of the district,” Marcus said after the game, noting that there were some things he knows his team needs to improve if it is going to make a deep playoff run. “We definitely need to take care of the ball better. I feel like turnovers were a huge factor in that game. And we need to shoot the ball better.”

Robert credited American Falls, for their willingness and ability to be physical with the physically imposting Panthers.

“Early in the game, we didn’t match their intensity. But we found a way to win the game,” he said.

The coach added that he has noticed his team battle bouts of lackadaisical play of late, and hopes that this brush with defeat will wake them from an apparent stupor.

By virtue of the victory, Snake River now holds its playoff destiny in its hands. With three games remaining, and a common-opponent tie-breaker advantage over Marsh Valley — coupled with American Falls’ now two conference losses — the Panthers need only win two of three to win the conference and host the district tournament.

Which ever school holds the home-court advantage during the district tournament, Robert believes, “will have a huge advantage.”

Snake River is back to work Friday, when they host Bear Lake (3-12, 0-2). American Falls will host Marsh Valley (7-9, 1-1) Friday.