Vikings fade after half
NAMPA, Idaho – That sound heard in the third quarter wasn’t the Idaho Center roof collapsing.
Truth be told, it was the sound of the afterburners from the Vallivue Falcons going on a 13-0 run that provided more than enough separation from Coeur d’Alene.
Vallivue did something that two other tall opponents couldn’t do against Coeur d’Alene. The second-ranked Falcons used their size inside to handle the Vikings 67-45 in the State 5A boys basketball championship game Saturday evening played before an estimated crowd of 6,000.
Perhaps CdA’s collapse started well before the third quarter. The Vikings led 22-21 at halftime, but it took 19 points from senior guard Nate Clinton for them to escape to intermission with the lead.
“I think the danger signals were even earlier in the first half,” CdA coach Kent Leiss said. “We really had trouble scoring and Nate Clinton had to score 19 points to just to keep us in the game at halftime. That wasn’t a good sign right there.”
The momentum shifted in a hurry nonetheless.
Mississippi-bound Vallivue guard Will Bogan hit a 3-pointer to open the second half. CdA’s Jon Latorre made a free throw to pull the Vikings within 24-23.
Then 2 minutes and 16 seconds later, the game was over for all intents and purposes. In the middle of the Falcons’ run, Vikings senior guard Andrew Prohaska picked up his second technical foul of the tournament. Ryan Simpson made the two free throws and a basket inside by Zach Kelsh ended the run that gave the Falcons (23-3) a 37-23 lead with 4:03 to go in the period.
“We just let down a little bit and they just capitalized on it,” Clinton said. “We just couldn’t come back. We’re usually a second-half team, but we didn’t show up and play tonight.”
CdA (22-3) briefly had an answer, pulling within 39-34 when Taki Ahhee made a 3-pointer with 2:10 to go before the fourth quarter. But the Falcons had a rebuttal, pushing the lead to 46-36 at quarter’s end.
Sophomore Connor Williams made two free throws to open the final quarter for CdA. But the Vikings didn’t get any closer than eight points thereafter.
Things got out of hand. Prohaska picked up his fifth foul and he proceeded to take the ball and hand it to Kelsh, whom Prohaska had fouled. That promptly resulted in a second technical in the game and third in the tourney.
Kelsh made four free throws, extending Vallivue’s lead to 65-42. A final basket gave the Falcons their biggest lead at 67-42.
CdA actually defended Bogan well. Bogan finished with just 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
It didn’t matter, though, because the Falcons’ posts, Kelsh and Jake Comfort, combined for 26 points and 18 rebounds.
“I really thought it was one of the only times all year that an opposing team’s two big men really punished us,” Leiss said. “We could not keep them off the offensive glass.”
It’s the first time all year, Leiss said, that the Vikings were outrebounded (41-29).
Clinton finished with a game-high 27 points. After making 8 of 12 shots in the first half, the 5-foot-6 Clinton found himself guarded by the 6-1 Bogan. Clinton made just 2 of 11 shots in the second half.
Bogan wasn’t concerned that his team trailed at halftime.
“We just believed we could do it,” Bogan said. “We came out and wanted it more than them. That’s what it came down to.”
Vallivue coach Mike Chatterton gave his team a simple message at halftime. In fact, he wrote it on the dry erase board. In a word, relax.
Leiss praised his team for getting to the title game.
“Overall, the big picture, our kids did an outstanding job this year,” Leiss said. “We had a bad half basically. That’s going to happen from time to time. We didn’t have many bad halves this year. They exceeded my expectations that I had coming into the season.”
Lewiston 49, Madison 45: Peter Gregg totaled 10 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Bengals (17-8) to a victory over the Bobcats in the third-place game of the tournament.
Ryan Hasenoenrl snared a team-high seven rebounds for the Bengals, who outscored Madison 27-23 in the second half to claim the victory.