Pocatello Thunder celebrate first Boys Basketball State Championship since 2000

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - It's a championship 24 years in the making. The Pocatello Thunder have finally gotten over the hump to win their first state title since 2000.

It's been a long time since Poky won a title, and the drought was more painful after the Thunder fell in the 4A championship to the Hillcrest Knights in 2022 and 2023.

But on Saturday night, standout performances led Poky to a championship against the team that had beaten them twice.

Boise State commit Julian Bowie suffered an injury on a hard fall late in the first half, then came back to score 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead his team to victory in an all-time performance.

Drey Contreras led the Thunder with 22 points in the contest, and Kesler Vaughn scored 18 points as well.

The championship victory ends a 24-year title drought, with the players bringing home Poky's first title since before they were born.