Trojans, Vikings Advance

A-1 Region I boys

Austin Lee summarized Post Falls High’s 70-40 basketball victory over Lake City on Wednesday night:

“It seems like every game a different guy steps up.”

Lee did some high-steppin’ in this A-1 Region I Tournament game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. So did Jeremy McLean, who contributed 17 points and dogged defense.

And so did Post Falls’ deep bench, which played smartly when the team’s top two scorers, Chad Quesnell and Brason Alexander, were sidelined with foul trouble.

Post Falls has numerous weapons.

As does Coeur d’Alene. The second-seeded Vikings topped No. 3 Lewiston 61-53 in the opener as reserves Ben Davis and Jim Rupp combined for 21 points.

“I think Benny’s the best sixth man in the league. He does that for us all the time,” CdA coach Larry Bieber said. “And Jimmy just shoots the ball so well.”

The Trojans (18-3) and Vikings (14-7) tangle Friday night at 7:45 at Post Falls’ Gym in the double-elimination tourney. Lewiston (9-12) and Lake City (10-12) play a loser-out contest at 6.

Post Falls 70, Lake City 40

Most annoying to Lake City coach Jim Winger was the fact that his players executed much of the game plan - and still trailed by 15 at half.

“When they got the lead, we kind of went, ‘Uh oh,’ and stopped getting after it,” Winger said. “But you have to give credit to a team that comes out and plays hard and inspired.

“We did everything we wanted to do and were still down 15 at half. That’s not a good sign, especially when you’ve gone through Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D, and you’re trying to dream up Plan E.”

The Trojans sprinted into a 12-6 lead on Travis Bohn’s three-point play. The margin steadily grew, even as Quesnell sat out the entire second quarter and Alexander missed half of the period. They usually combine for 28 points, but were limited to 13.

“It’s starting to sound like an old recording, but it was a great team effort,” Trojans coach Scott Moore said.

Perhaps the most eye-catching play was reserve guard Ryan Olson’s nifty save of a ball just before it went out of bounds, leading to Adam Fehling’s assist and McLean’s layup.

McLean had 12 points in a ragged first half as the Trojans connected on 17 free throws and Lake City was 12 of 15 at the stripe.

Lee dominated the third quarter with 11 points as Post Falls assumed a 25-point advantage. He eventually made 9 of 10 attempts from the field, missing only on a 3-pointer.

Chad Cheeley topped LC with 14 points.

Lake City 14 9 11 6 - 40

Post Falls 22 16 21 11 - 70

LAKE CITY Camantique 2, Cheeley 14, Stroh 0, Hern 10, Nipp 4, Anderson 0, Morris 1, Barlow 1, J. Reiswig 3, Bramlet 0, R.J. Reiswig 5, Witten 0.

POST FALLS Quesnell 7, Alexander 6, Bohn 5, McLean 17, Lee 20, Therrian 5, Juhlin 2, Fehling 2, Olson 1, Curlee 0, McArthur 0, Miller 3, Meeks 2, Porter 0, Christiansen 0.

Coeur d’Alene 61, Lewiston 53

The Vikings led throughout, weathering Lewiston’s only major threat in the third quarter.

After trailing by as many 11, the Bengals crept within 28-24. CdA’s Davis redirected momentum with a 23-foot 3-pointer and a steal and a layin.

Junior forward Casey Hoorelbeke took over from there. He scored 11 of his team-high 15 in the second half. He also had 12 rebounds.

“That’s all we talked about in pregame, keeping Hoorelbeke off the offensive boards,” Lewiston coach Dick Richel said. “He’s hurt us all three times we’ve played them.”

CdA broke in front 15-9 as Rupp hit for five first-quarter points. Rupp added a 3-pointer in the second quarter as the Viks took a 24-15 lead.

Rupp’s diving pursuit of a loose ball in the third quarter truly impressed Coach Bieber. He was so pleased with Rupp’s intensity, he chest-bumped (Bieber-bumped?) the junior guard during the next timeout.

“He played some defense tonight,” Bieber said. “I’ve been waiting all year for him to play defense like that.”

Lewiston never shook its turnover habit. The Bengals first pass of the game ended up going into the CdA bench for a turnover, the first of 20.

Guard Aaron White scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, but the Bengals never pulled closer than eight points.

Lewiston 9 6 11 27 - 53

Coeur d’Alene 15 9 14 23 - 61

LEWISTON White 25, Charlo 2, Pierce 0, Egland 9, Lupinacci 2, Johnson 6, Eck 0, Sullivan 5, Smith 2, Hardin 2, Benner 0.

COEUR d’ALENE Gibbs 5, Wood 3, Kovatch 4, Hoorelbeke 15, O’Dowd 13, Rupp 14, Davis 7.

, DataTimes