Little consolation for North Idaho teams

NAMPA, Idaho – North Idaho boys basketball teams went 1 for 5 in consolation trophy games Saturday morning, securing just one piece of hardware.

St. Maries was the lone winner as the Lumberjacks captured fourth – their first trophy since 1998 – with a 60-52 win over Filer in the 3A state tournament at Meridian High School.

In other games, Twin Falls held off Post Falls 51-45 for third in 5A; Jerome handled Sandpoint 83-67 for third in 4A; Sugar-Salem got past Priest River 61-55 for third in 3A; and Wilder topped Wallace 47-40 for fourth in 1A Division I.

5A

Twin Falls 51, Post Falls 45: Just like the night before, the Trojans had opportunities. But they made things more difficult than they needed to be at Columbia High School.

Like Madison on Friday, Twin Falls (20-9) brutalized Post Falls on the boards, gaining a 41-27 advantage. The Bruins outrebounded the Trojans 14-8 on the offensive end.

“We had a common denominator in these games down here,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. “It’s a problem that’s not fixable until we get to the offseason. We just have to get stronger.”

4A

Jerome 83, Sandpoint 67: The Tigers pulled away in the second half as the Bulldogs, seeking their first state trophy, couldn’t keep pace. Doing most of the damage was Logan Parker, who had a game-high 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 7 of 13 3-point tries.

Stefan Buratto led Sandpoint (10-16) with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.

3A

Sugar-Salem 61, Priest River 55: The Spartans led 29-20 at halftime, but the Diggers took control in the final two quarters.

Brennon Bean led the Diggers with 21 points. Jake Weimer led the Spartans (19-3) with 19 points and Max Salesky had 17.

St. Maries 60, Filer 52: The Lumberjacks (19-5) outscored the Wildcats 15-7 in the third quarter to seize control. Aaron Corsi led St. Maries with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots while his brother, Matt, had 11 rebounds and seven assists. Zach Lehman chipped in 15 points.

1A Division I

Wilder 47, Wallace 40: The Wildcats got 15 second-chance points to the Miners’ four and that proved the difference.

Jared Bilaski led Wallace (16-8) with 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals.