Bombers fall to Meridian in the Bomber Classic - By Max Schuster

    On Friday night, the Bombers took the court with the Idaho powerhouse Meridian. In this matchup, the Bombers needed to show what they were capable of. After a game that took all four quarters to resolve, the Meridian Warriors took the game, beating the Bombers 68-61.

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    Coming into the game, the Bombers knew that they would have a test on their hands. The Meridian Warriors are coming off a season where they placed second in the state of Idaho in the AAAAA division. Woodard knew what the Warrior's identity was, and that was shooting. The Bombers would need to do everything they could to have a hand in the face of the defender on every shot. 

    The Bombers came out hot to start the game, getting the ball into Luke Westerfield for the first two points. Westerfield came off a dominant game at Pasco, where he was able to pick up 13 points and 12 rebounds. “You could tell how much more physical he is this year,” Bomber Student Talon Jones stated before the game on Friday night. After Westerfield's first two points, the Bombers outscored the Warriors 15-5 in the game's first five minutes. After that first stretch, the game stayed pretty back and forth for the next several minutes; in that time, the Bombers were able to watch star point guard Josh Woodard in his place. Starting the game 2/2 for beyond the three-point line, Woodard looked as if he hadn’t missed a beat from last season. The first quarter ended 27-16 with a confident-looking bomber team.

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    Heading into the second quarter, the Warriors' bench created their own energy, making sure to celebrate after every shot and being loud on defense. This worked, not letting the Bombers score a point in the first two minutes after the break. However, they hadn’t scored either until Ryan Baker allowed their offense to start working well with a putback starting a 7-2 run halfway through the second quarter. Finally, with 1:37 left in the half, Landen Northrop pulled up from 3 and drained it to lead the offense back on track. As well as another three-pointer from Northrop, the Bombers headed into the half leading 39-25.

    To start the second half, T.J Sanor, son of head coach Jeff Sanor, made a three from deep and brought the momentum to the Warrior's side; the next time down the court, Sanor drove to the hoop and made a bucket over Westerfield. This didn’t stop the Bombers, though. Senior Forward Jack Forbes used his athleticism for a talented layup at the other end of the court. Westerfield took the momentum back when he used his size and ability to slam, dunk the ball, and make a statement. Halfway through the third quarter, T.J. Sanor hit a three-pointer that forced the Bombers to take a timeout, and it was the first time the Bombers looked to be flustered. That didn’t last long when Westerfield was able to dunk again and keep the Bombers lead at 10. After that, the game was back and forth, shot for shot, and the third quarter ended 55-43.

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    Heading into the fourth quarter of play, the Bombers needed to buckle down as they had been outscored by two points in the third quarter. That would fall onto the defense's shoulders, as Woodard stated to me after the game, “We knew that we would have to lock them up in the fourth.” After two and a half minutes of play, the Warriors were able to cut the deficit to three points. With 3:00 on the clock, the Warriors took their first lead of the game. That wasn’t it, though, for the Bombers. They took the lead right back, and with 2:28 left in the game, it was all tied up. T.J. Sanor came right down the court and hit a game-changing three to take the lead back. After a pair of free throws, the game was 62-60 with 1:22 left. After a timeout, the Warriors ended the game with a 6-1 run and completed a 14-point comeback to beat the Bombers. 

    If someone looked at the game as a whole, the Bombers played a respectable first half and looked competitive on both sides of the ball. During the second half, they couldn’t make the shots they needed to fall, while the Warriors couldn’t seem to miss. This was a pre-season game. Therefore, it won’t have any effect on the MCC standings. The Bombers have a long road ahead to show if they can exceed the expectations of this tremendously athletic team.

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