BY MICHAEL DAVID

With the Wolverine student section clad in purple and gold in honor of Kobe Bryant, Wood River senior guard Johnny Radford donned his home white and green uniform and some Bryant sneakers and proceeded to do his best Kobe impersonation on the court in Hailey, pouring in 38 points to lead the Wolverines to a 63-46 victory over Buhl in a mid-season non-conference matchup.

 Radford came out firing early in the contest, knocking down four 3-pointers and tallying 14 points in the first quarter to help stake the Wolverines to a 23-12 lead. As has been the case lately, his teammates chipped in to set the tone. Senior big man Kade Heitzman pulled down two rebounds and blocked two shots in the first quarter, senior Walter Kriesien contributed three of his own, and Davis Ros and Edgar Salamanca scored crucial buckets.

 In the second period, Radford cranked up his defense, nabbing three steals and turning them into breakaway layups. He also got his mid-range game going, hitting two jump shots from the elbow on back to back possessions and a baseline jumper to extend the Wolverine lead to 35-22 late in the second quarter.

 Radford, who is heading to the College of Idaho to play basketball following graduation, canned one more three before the half and had 27 points before the intermission. Kriesien, also sporting Kobe kicks, capped the first half scoring going coast to coast for a layup to give the home team a 40-24 halftime lead.

 The Wolverines cruised in the second half, pushing their lead to 20 points at the end of the third and finishing with the 63-46 final score.

 Radford ended the game with 38 points (on 16 of 24 shooting, 6 of 12 on threes), 7 steals, and 4 rebounds. Kriesien filled up the stat sheet with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Heitzman was strong down low with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Davis Ros added 6 points, and McCade Parke, Isai Mendoza, Edgar Salamanca and Tyler Peterson all scored two for the victorious Wolverines.

 This was the fourth straight win for Wood River, pushing their season record to 8-7 (5-3 in conference play). Next up for the Wolverines is an away tilt in Jerome on Friday night. Wood River is back at home Wednesday, Feb. 5, against Canyon Ridge. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.