Lakeside Likes Fork In State A-4 Tournament Road

A-4

Thanks to the Clark Fork High School boys basketball team, the North Star League has been well represented at the State A-4 Tournament the past two years.

The Wampus Cats captured third place last year and the consolation title the year before.

That’s good news for the Lakeside Knights, the NSL’s representative to state this week. The Knights appear to be every bit as talented, if not more so, than Clark Fork’s respectable trophy-winning teams.

In fact, Lakeside (19-4 overall) takes on Cascade (15-8), the same team Clark Fork defeated 58-44 in first-round play last year. The teams clash in the tourney opener at 12:45 p.m. PST at Hillcrest High School.

In the other openers, Highland-Craigmont (18-6) meets Shoshone (21-4) in the other game in Lakeside’s bracket, while defending champion North Gem (14-9) goes against Carey (19-7) and Oakley (22- 2) matches up against Nampa Christian (22-1).

In the State A-3 Tournament at Skyline High School, defending champion Teton (24-0) is heavily favored to repeat. Teton meets Fruitland (18-6) in the opening game.

In the other openers, Declo (16-6) squares off with Malad (22-1), Potlatch (19-4) takes on Soda Springs (17-9) and Homedale (17-6) meets Grangeville (17-7).

Lakeside’s state opponents had better make sure their sneakers are tightly laced because the Knights will push the ball at breakneck pace on offense and dive all over the court applying fullcourt pressure.

The Knights have averaged nearly 70 points and launched as many as 25 3-pointers in a game. Nine players share time, and all can score in double figures and make 3-pointers.

So balanced offensively are the Knights that their leading scorer, junior guard James Twoteeth, finished the regular season ranked ninth among NSL leaders at 12.3 ppg. Senior forward Daniel Montague and junior guard Glen Lambert average 11.5 and 10.2 ppg, respectively.

Lakeside coach Greg Stutzman thinks his team’s 55-53 loss to Mullan that forced an extra championship game last week came at the right time.

“That should help us at state,” Stutzman said. “First of all it was a reality check. It puts it all into perspective again and got us focused. It’s no fun losing.”

Perhaps Lakeside’s ability to turn things around Saturday in a 54-30 win over Mullan was as easy as changing socks.

At least that’s the way Lambert saw it. He threw away his Nike socks he wore Friday, realizing that in a previous win over Mullan he had worn a pair of black Mickey Mouse socks. Mickey, er, Lambert scored 10 points in the title victory.

Lambert also continued a superstition by wearing the sock on his right leg fully pulled over his calf and the sock on the other at half mast.

The key at state, Lambert said, is for the Knights to continue to do what’s carried them this season.

“We have a great bench. Anybody can come off the bench and run up and down the floor,” Lambert said. “That’s what we do best. That’s how we learned how to play.”

Interestingly, Lakeside and Cascade will know more about each other than most first-round opponents. Stutzman and Cascade coach Jim Simpson are friends going back to when they co-coached a sophomore team at Borah High in Boise in 1984-85.

, DataTimes