Clark Fork upset bid falls short

Had Clark Fork boys basketball coach Brian Powell known that his team would have held undefeated Post Falls Christian to its lowest point total of the season, he would have thought his team had a chance Friday.

But Powell’s Wampus Cats couldn’t manufacture much offense either, and the more experienced Eagles ultimately found their rhythm on their way to a 45-34 decision in the 1A District I championship game before a raucous crowd at Lakeland High School.

Post Falls Christian (19-0) advances to state Wednesday where it will open against District IV fourth-place finisher Richfield (18-7) at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.

In a loser-out opener, Mullan was too much for Kootenai in a 50-31 decision. That sets up a winner-to-state-loser-out game between Mullan (14-7) and Clark Fork (12-11) this afternoon at 4 at Lakeland.

Post Falls Christian 45, Clark Fork 34: Had the district title game been a state opener, the Eagles may have found themselves quickly dispatched into the consolation side of the bracket.

The Eagles were undisciplined through most of the ballgame. It took a spark from junior reserve wing Max Munson in the fourth quarter to ensure the victory.

Munson, strapped with foul trouble the night before, told PFC coach Tim Mitchell after the Eagles’ win over Kootenai on Thursday that he would bounce back with a big contribution. True to his word, Munson came off the bench in the fourth quarter to score seven of his team-high 13 points as the Eagles, leading just 30-26 through three quarters, finally pulled away.

“After last night’s game, he told me he wanted to do something tonight and he did it,” Mitchell said. “He didn’t see a lot of playing time last night, and he stepped up tonight and had a great game. He got us off to a good start in the fourth quarter.”

“My head got the best of me last night,” Munson said. “I just came out and tried to do what my team needed me to do.”

The Eagles, who have averaged 68.9 points per game, hadn’t scored fewer than 52 prior to Friday. Some of that credit must go to the Wampus Cats, who controlled the tempo for a little more than three quarters.

A 3-pointer by David Park and a basket off a backdoor cut by Munson allowed PFC to extend the lead into double digits at 42-30 with 4:10 to go.

“Clark Fork came out and played great,” Munson said. “We weren’t surprised, but they were really, really pushing us. We were getting frustrated. Toward the end of the game we came out and did what we needed to do.”

Clark Fork kept close despite frigid shooting (27 percent, 12 of 45). A rebound basket by Cameron Jeffres pulled the Wampus Cats within 16-15 going into halftime.

PFC’s biggest lead in the third quarter was six before the Eagles took control in the final 8 minutes.

“The kids played hard, and I think if we’d played better and a little smarter we knew we could have been right in there at the end,” Powell said. “We had some communication problems on defense (in the fourth quarter) and they got a couple of easy ones. Pretty soon instead of being down four or six you’re down 10 or 12. And then time kind of runs out.”

In addition to Munson’s 13 points, Park and Hutchins had 10 apiece. Hutchins also had a team-high 10 rebounds and Park had four assists.

Mike Martin led CF with 10 points.

Mullan 50, Kootenai 31: After trailing 26-14 at halftime, the Warriors scored the first five points of the third quarter.

But Kootenai (7-16) didn’t get any closer as the Tigers started to distance themselves.

Mullan’s inside duo of Cory Pehan and Jesse James controlled things on both ends. Pehan had a game-high 20 points to go with 21 rebounds and four blocked shots. James added 13 points, 20 rebounds and six steals.

Andrew Cranford led Kootenai with 11 points.