Timberwolves Prove Cream Of Region Crop

Strange game, high school basketball. Just ask Lake City High School boys coach Jim Winger.

Winger’s state-bound Timberwolves captured the A-1 Region I championship Saturday night, defeating Post Falls 79-63 before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 2,000 at Trojan Gym.

The win came a week after Lake City played what Winger called one of its worst games of the year, a 48-43 loss at Lewiston.

“That’s probably our best game of the year,” said Winger, whose Timberwolves, 14-8 overall, will be off 11 days before opening play at state March 2 in Pocatello.

Inland Empire League champion Post Falls (18-4) now faces the long route to state. To earn the opportunity to play in the playoff to decide a state berth, Post Falls must face Lewiston (14-8) on Tuesday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

The Post Falls-Lewiston winner advances to meet the No. 3 finisher from District III (Boise area) on Saturday to decide a state invitation.

The Bengals gave coach Dick Richel his 200th career victory with a season-extending 65-40 victory over Sandpoint in the loser-out game Saturday.

Sandpoint finishes its season 7-16.

Lake City 79, Post Falls 63

The game came down to streaks. The Timberwolves’ 13-0 run that spanned nearly 6 minutes from the first to second quarter provided a lead LC never lost.

The T-Wolves increased the margin throughout the second half.

Post Falls never had a run. Backto-back baskets were few.

Trailing 16-11 after Post Falls’ Ryan Edmonds made a 3-pointer, Lake City started its surge.

Nine straight points helped the T-Wolves close the first quarter ahead 20-16.

Fastbreak buckets by Chad Beadell, Brian Russell and Regan Wilson pushed LC’s lead to 26-16. A rebound bucket by Mike McLean stopped the T-Wolf streak momentarily.

The T-Wolves pushed the lead to 11 points and survived a momentary lapse when Post Falls was able to trim the margin to 29-24 with 2:15 remaining before halftime.

But LC doubled the lead to 35-25 at halftime.

Post Falls was unable to cut the lead below 10 in the second half.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the hole,” Post Falls coach Scott Moore said. “We’ve always had a philosophy that when our shots aren’t falling, we play twice as hard at the defensive end. We didn’t do that. We let our shooting effect our whole game. We couldn’t get that crucial basket (to start a run).”

The game had a frenetic pace, and though LC seemed to cling to a 12- to 14-point lead most of the second half, the game never seemed locked up by the T-Wolves until the final two minutes.

Russell led a balanced LC attack with 22 points. Junior Scott Hoover scored 17, Bryan Kelly had 13 and Wilson added 11.

“I don’t think Post Falls played poorly,” Winger said. “I think we just picked a helluva good time to play a great game. We’ve been up and down most of the season, but I’d call this a peak.”

Lake City hit 19 of 25 free throws in the fourth quarter to thwart Post Falls’ comeback bid.

Tim Roberts led Post Falls with 24 points.

“I knew we were going to win,” Russell said. “I had a feeling. We came up fired up, enthused and played with tenacity. They (Post Falls) underestimated us. They could have played a lot harder.”

Moore expects the Trojans to rebound Tuesday.

“We’ve got a lot of pride and character. We’re going to bounce back on Tuesday. We haven’t lost two games (in a row) all season and were not about to start Tuesday.”

Lake City 20 15 15 29 - 79 Post Falls 16 9 12 26 - 63

LAKE CITY Thompson 2, Kelly 13, Keefer 3, Wilson 11, Russell 22, Miller 7, Hoover 17, Beadell 4.

POST FALLS Curtis 3, Alexander 0, Edmonds 7, Roberts 24, Hollenbeck 2, Pichotta 0, Pope 10, McLean 13, Cudmore 4, Lee 0.

Lewiston 65, Sandpoint 50

Richel didn’t get an opportunity to say much to his team at halftime.

The Bengals may have led 30-29, but Lewiston assistant Dave Cornelius dominated the halftime chat, imploring the Bengals to play some defense in the second half.

“We really picked it up defensively; we played soft in the first half,” Richel said. “We weren’t playing with much aggression. Coach C (Cornelius) really let them have it at halftime.”

Displaying much more intensity, Lewiston blew open what had been a close game.

Trailing 36-31, Sandpoint made just 1 of its final 12 shots in the third quarter. Lewiston reserve guard Jeremy Frei hit a 3-pointer, his lone shot of the game, at quarter’s end to put Lewiston ahead comfortably at 40-33.

“That was the critical stretch,” Richel said. “Those shots (by Sandpoint) went in in the first half.”

Despite playing in foul trouble, Lewiston wing Ryan Baerlocher led the Bengals with 15 points. He put an exclamation point on Lewiston’s win late in the fourth quarter when he drove the key and dunked left-handed on a sweet move.

Lewiston got 11 points from Jayson Ulrich and 10 each from Craig Gilchrist and Tom Smithwick.

Sandpoint was led by Brian Trenholm’s 21 points.

It was an entertaining, see-sawing first half, as there were nine lead changes.

Sandpoint’s biggest first-half lead was 20-16, when Trenholm sank a jumper from the free-throw line with 6 minutes to go in the second quarter.

Lewiston promptly turned the deficit around, outscoring Sandpoint 10- 0 over the next 3 minutes as the Bengals built their widest early margin to 26-20.

But Sandpoint tied the score at 26 on consecutive 3-pointers by reserve Brian Evans and point guard Dallas Spielman with 1:50 remaining before halftime.

Trenholm, who missed four free throws in the second period, made a short leaner in the key and was fouled with 18 seconds before intermission. He missed the free throw.

Lewiston took the lead into the break when Kevin Lorentz got a rebound basket off a miss by Bill Scharnhorst with 6 seconds left.

Richel said it doesn’t matter which team the Bengals play Tuesday.

“We’re going to have to play our best basketball no matter who we play,” he said. “I’d like to get win No. 201. And 202 would be even better.”

Lewiston 14 16 10 25 - 65 Sandpoint 14 15 4 17 - 50

LEWISTON Perez 0, Frei 4, Scharnhorst 3, Baerlocher 15, Farris 4, Gomez 3, Ulrich 11, Gilchrist 10, Smithwick 10, Feider 4, Lorentz 2, Steele 0.

SANDPOINT Herrington 2, Buckmaster 4, Jeffres 5, Luce 1, Spielman 13, Evans 4, Trenholm 21, Smith 0, Love 0, Bowman 0.