Boyer uses opponent's overlooking him to his advantage

Junior guard Brett Boyer isn't Cibola's leading scorer.

He's not relied on to grab rebounds or dish out 10 assists a game. He's not a lock-down defender or a shot blocker.

But this season, the 6-foot Boyer has emerged as a key contributor to a 14-4 Cibola team because he can flat-out shoot.

“He's basically been our fifth guy all year. He's the guy that everybody sort of passes over,” said Cibola coach Tim Keller said. “They see the two 6-foot-5 kids (Deante Gaines and Steven Loucks), you got Stevie Mitchell who gets to the middle and everybody's coming out to try and guard Jordan (Mitchell). So (Boyer) has kind of been the quiet fifth guy who has blown away a few teams.”

No. 4 Cibola faces off against No. 5 North (13-5) in the first round of the Division I Section I tournament at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at Westview High School.

As the No. 18 team in all sections, the Raiders should have a safe spot in the state tournament regardless of the outcome. The Mustangs' 6-foot-3 wing Jonah Legg (16.5 points a game) leads an offense that gets most of its scoring from four players, alongside Ahmad Levon (11.6), Cody Williams (11.4) and Elijah Williams (10.5).

“It'll be a tough match-up for us, size-wise,” said Keller. “They're all slashers that like to get to the basket.”

Boyer is averaging 8.9 points a game for the Raiders, with twice as many 3-pointers (54) made than 2-pointers (27). Playing with a caliber of point guard as Jordan Mitchell, Boyer is likely to find himself open when Mitchell is double-teamed.

“It comes to my advantage, because Jordan will draw all that attention and I can just spot up,” Boyer said.

Keller feels the junior guard has improved the subtle movements off the ball a shooter needs to get open, saying “that's been something he's been working on this year, spotting up and being ready to shoot. And as the season has progressed, he's gotten better at that.”

There have been moments this year, late in a close game with everything on the line, Boyer has shown he's ready to knock down the big shot.

In their regular season finale at Kofa, when the Kings fought their way back after being down 15, Cibola had a three-point lead with less than two minutes to go. Boyer took a pass from Jordan Mitchell on a fast break and hit a three from the left wing to put the Raiders up six with 1:24 left and silenced a previously rambunctious Kofa crowd.

Earlier in the season — Jan. 12 at Brawley — the Raiders grabbed a rebound with eight seconds left in a 53-53 game. As Loucks brought the ball up, Boyer set himself up in the left corner — like an assassin patiently waiting for his moment to strike. Loucks drove to the left elbow and Boyer's defender left to help. With three seconds left, Loucks passed it over to Boyer, who calmly drilled the 3-pointer just before time expired to give the Raiders a 56-53 win.

“That shot more than anything helped him get his confidence,” said Keller. “So we're not worried at all with him taking those shots.”

But Boyer has tried to not pigeonhole himself as strictly a shooter — although there may be moments where he falls in love with the idea of staying behind the 3-point line.

“Everybody knows I'm going to shoot so I can drive it. But yeah, sometimes I get caught up in just shooting threes.”

In the win over Kofa on Friday, when Boyer scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, the shooter scored from multiple areas — hitting a pair of threes, getting to the free-throw line and finishing fastbreaks with a layup.

“During the season, he's actually gotten better at taking the ball to the basket,” said Keller. “He's got a pretty nice move to the basket. He can lay it up or get fouled and go to the free-throw line, and he's one of our better free throw shooters.”

Even as he tries to incorporate other parts to his game, Boyer is still a shooter. If his defender leaves him, he will happily make him pay by hitting a three. And if he's feeling it that night, Boyer is capable of carrying the Cibola offense.

“When he's hot,” said Keller, “he's hot.”

Jesse Severson can be reached at jseverson@yumasun.com or at 539-6881. Find him at facebook.com/YSJesseSeverson