BY MICHAEL DAVID

Determined not to let their successful season end prematurely, Garrett Rawlings and his Cutthroat teammates upended the Castleford Wolves 69-37 in District IV Tournament play Monday night at Shoshone High School.

Rawlings led the way with a season-high 30 points, along with nine rebounds, six steals and six blocked shots. And the Cutthroats received significant contributions from every other member of their squad, as well.

Daniel Dufur tallied 17 points, six rebounds and five steals and Keegan Whitelaw filled the stat sheet with six points, three assists and three steals. Sophomore Henry Pollock chipped in nine points and five rebounds, and senior center Alex Feldman had four points, two rebounds and two steals.  Colby Marsh (two rebounds and two assists) and Jackson Dies (three points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal) made a big impact off the bench for the Sun Valley cagers.

A sign of things to come, the first two baskets of the game were scored in the paint by the Cutthroats’ Rawlings. The determined Wolves from Castleford scored seven unanswered points to take a 7-4 lead, but Rawlings’ teammates continued to feed the 6’2” senior forward the ball down low, and he continued to score, ending the first quarter with 13 points.

However, the Wolves weren’t going away just yet--their senior guard Jonathan Rich hit a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give Castleford a 15-14 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

That would be the Wolves’ last lead of the night, however, as the Cutthroats relentless defense caused several Castleford turnovers, and Rawlings and Dufur made them pay by converting those turnovers into Community School baskets. A Pollock steal and long lead pass to Rawlings for a driving layup gave the Cutthroats an eight-point lead at halftime, 33-25.

Coach Mike Payne’s boys pulled away at the start of the third quarter with an 18-1 scoring run, fueled by balanced scoring and strong team defense. The Cutthroats finished the night with 17 steals and nine blocked shots, consistently frustrating the Wolves’ ball handlers and shooters.  Henry Pollock’s second three-pointer of the quarter gave the Community School a 54-30 lead after three periods of play.

The Cutthroats played strong until the final buzzer and an Alex Feldman layup capped the scoring for the evening, giving the Community School a 69-37 victory. The win kept their season alive as they advance to the double-elimination portion of the district tournament.

They face the No. 1 seed Dietrich Blue Devils today, Feb. 16, at Shoshone High School.  Tip-off is at 3  p.m.