Wallace, CF seek magic

The Clark Fork and Wallace boys basketball teams don’t have to look far for inspiration as far as the State 1A tournament is concerned.

They hope a little bit of magic from last year’s state tournament rubs off on them. Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy had a special run at state a year ago, taking third in its first visit.

State begins today at two sites in Caldwell. District I runner-up Wallace (16-6) takes on District V-VI play-in qualifier Sho-Ban (14-2) at 2 PST at Vallivue High School, while District I champ Clark Fork (17-4) meets District IV fourth-place team Oakley (15-9) at 5:15 at Caldwell High School.

Clark Fork, riding a seven-game winning streak, is making its second straight trip to state. Three of the Wampus Cats’ four losses were to 3A teams, including one to state qualifier Bonners Ferry.

The Wampus Cats will start one of the tallest lineups. Clark Fork’s starters are 6-foot-5, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and 6-0.

The Wampus Cats went 0-2 at state last year. But most of the players off the team are back, and CF coach Brian Powell is hopeful that the experience will be beneficial.

Wallace is making its first trip to state in 16 years. The Miners were in the former A-3 division (now 2A) when they last qualified in 1992.

The Miners also are tall. Their three leading scorers stand 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. But they’ll be without junior point guard Nick Arthun, who led them in scoring, assists and steals in the regular season. He suffered a knee injury just before district.

One of Wallace’s key wins was over 3A state qualifier Kellogg, the District I champ.