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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sloppy Wolves Survive Scare Lc Downs Meridian, Moves On To Semifinals

Lake City High School boys basketball coach Jim Winger didn’t bring his team here for an art exhibit.

So no matter how ugly the Timberwolves played for three of four quarters in their State A-1 Tournament opener Thursday afternoon. the most important thing is they played well when it counted most.

Lake City avoided an upset by pulling out an abstract 62-57 come-from-behind victory over Meridian before an estimated crowd of 2,500 in spacious Holt Arena at Idaho State University.

Defending state champion Centennial, which shared top ranking with Lake City, fell to hometown Highland 83-70 just prior to the LC-Meridian matchup.

Lake City (19-4 overall) will meet Highland (18-6), which boasts several talented players of its State A-1 Division I championship football team, tonight at 5:30 PST in the semifinals.

In the evening games, Blackfoot ran away from Eagle 63-46 and Rigby topped Capital 57-48 in a physical opener.

In the other semifinal tonight, Blackfoot (20-6) will meet rival Rigby (19-6).

In loser-out games this afternoon, Meridian (15-10) will take on Centennial (19-5) while Capital (16-10) meets Eagle (13-11).

All four Boise area schools fell in the first round.

Lake City 62, Meridian 57

This was a game that previous Winger teams found a way to lose at state.

But this time, a break finally went Lake City’s way.

LC was clinging precariously to a 59-57 lead when Meridian guard Jeff Hymas - with T-Wolf Jerid Keefer guarding tightly and closing off possible penetration inside the 3-point arc - dribbled the ball off his left leg and out of bounds with 11 seconds left.

Then LC’s Jon Chatfield, who played his worst quarters of the season in the first half, was fouled and made two free throws to secure the second state win for a Winger team in four years (eight games).

“This time the ball bounced off their leg,” Winger said, recalling a handful of ways his teams have lost games at state. “This time instead of the ball bouncing off the side of the rim and over our heads into their hands it landed in our hands. It went our way for one game - I’m not saying it’s going to do that tomorrow - but this time we got a break.”

But for three quarters, the Timberwolves didn’t look like the team that zipped through the Inland Empire League and regional tournament undefeated.

“It wasn’t pretty for the first three (quarters), but that’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned,” Winger said. “You got to get that first (win) no matter what. We’ll take it.”

And while the Timberwolves were struggling, Meridian played well - especially early in the first half and late in the third quarter.

Meridian, which attempted 23 3-pointers, made its first three to open the game, and Winger took a timeout at the 5:27 mark with his team trailing 9-2. A 3-pointer by Shane Carlson extended Meridian’s lead to 14-6 with 1:39 left in the opening period.

At that point, versatile reserve Mike Asper kept the T-Wolves from getting blown out. He made three baskets, including a 3-pointer, as LC trimmed Meridian’s lead to 17-14 by period’s end.

Chatfield’s struggles continued. He was 0 for 4 from the field in the first half and 0 for 5 on 3-point attempts for the game. His three points in the first half came on free throws.

Still, LC managed to stay close in the second quarter, ultimately forging a 29-29 tie at halftime. Chatfield worked inside in the second half, scoring 15 of his 18 points. But it was the game-long efforts of 6-foot-5 forward Scott Hoover that proved pivotal in the second half.

Hoover hit two 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes of the fourth as LC pulled ahead at 52-47. But the play of the game came with 3:39 left when Hoover skyed over Asper’s back and stuffed a missed 3-point attempt by Chatfield as LC extended its lead to five at 54-49.

Lake City 62, Meridian 57

Lake City 14 15 12 21 -62

Meridian 17 12 16 12 -57

LAKE CITY Camantigue 0, Thompson 3, Keefer 2, Chatfield 18, Hoover 25, Bryan 0, Beadell 4, Asper 10.

MERIDIAN Waite 8, Walker 10, Carlson 3, J. Hymas 4, Centers 6, Harris 3, G. Hymas 19, Hill 4.

Blackfoot 63, Eagle 46

Seniors Landon Kesler and Scott Cannon both pitched in 19 points as Blackfoot overran Eagle.

Highland 83, Centennial 70

Tennison Tripple hit three of his four 3-point field goals during a third-quarter explosion and scored 28 points in all as Highland beat last year’s champion.

Rigby 57, Capital 48

Senior forward Jeremie Berrett was high-point player with 19 as fourth-ranked Rigby downed Capital.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo