St. Maries Looking For Experience Lumberjacks A Long Shot, But So What’s New?

The best season - or seasons, for that matter - may still be ahead for the St. Maries High boys basketball team.

So St. Maries coach Todd Bitterman’s point is well made.

The best preparation for the future is now, he says.

If the Lumberjacks go 0-2 at the State A-2 tournament, they’ll have to return home Friday, a day before trophy play.

“We want to stay for the whole tournament,” Bitterman said. “We want the experience for next year. But the only way we can stay for the whole tournament is to win the first or second day.”

St. Maries (16-7) will meet Sugar-Salem (15-10) in the opening game of the tourney Thursday afternoon at Meridian High School. Game time is 12:45 PST.

Defending State A-2 champ Moscow (17-4) opens against Shelley (7-17). In other openers, Preston (20-2) takes on Bishop Kelly (20-3) and Jerome (8-15) goes against No. 1-ranked Emmett (21-2).

The Lumberjacks were picked to finish fourth in league, but surprised many by placing runner-up to Moscow in league and district.

The nucleus of St. Maries’ team stepped up from a 15-3 junior varsity team last year. Three of the Lumberjacks’ starters return next season and five others on the roster will be back.

Moscow moves up to A-1 next year. All the more reason Bitterman is excited about the future.

The Lumberjacks, making their first trip to state since 1991-92, were considered a darkhorse at the start of the season. But they emerged as a legitimate contender for one of the league’s two state berths.

“I thought from game one we had a chance,” Bitterman said. “We showed some good things. We played Lakeside and beat them by 18 points at their place. They’re an awfully good A-4 team and they’re the defending state champs.”

Senior Mark Raebel leads St. Maries in scoring (16.5 points per game). He, too, sensed good things were in store for the Lumberjacks.

“I really thought we were going to have a good season,” Raebel said. “I thought the players off the JV were going to fill in real well. And they have.”

St. Maries had some downs with its ups, but it never had long stretches of poor play.

Bitterman is preparing his team as if it were playing Moscow.

Sugar-Salem has quickness similar to Moscow and will press like the Bears. But Bitterman doesn’t think the Diggers will play defense like the defending champs.

“They’ll be tough, but I think it’s a good opener for us,” Bitterman said.

For Moscow to repeat it will have to do it with defense and balanced scoring. Senior guard Kirby Brown leads the Bears in scoring (13 ppg), and six players average between six and nine points.

“If we play like we did at district, we can make a little noise down there,” Moscow coach Don Dudley said.

, DataTimes