Lake City Tops Post Falls
Lake City point guard Mike Thompson, the shortest player on the court in the Timberwolves’ Inland Empire League opener against Post Falls, controlled the game when it mattered most Friday.
Thompson, listed as 5-foot-9 on the roster but closer to 5-7, made 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter as the T-Wolves stunned league favorite Post Falls 55-47 before an estimated 1,500 fans.
The only way Post Falls could stop Thompson was to intentionally foul him which the Trojans did with 7 seconds remaining.
By that time, though, Thompson’s knees were nearly dragging on the court he was so exhausted. He’s the lone T-Wolf who played all 32 minutes.
“I was tired,” said Thompson, who also needed to check to make sure all his limbs were still attached after some of the checks he took. He finished with 15 points, making 11 of 16 free throws overall.
“I was slammed a couple of times,” said Thompson, a standout soccer player who is used to physical play. “It was a great win. They were favored and we came in and showed them that we’re one of the top teams in the league also.”
And if LC coach Jim Winger had to cast a vote for league most valuable player at the midway point of the season, he wouldn’t hesitate to tab his junior point guard - even though 6-3 T-Wolf post Brian Russell leads the league in scoring at 21 points per game.
“I absolutely love that kid,” Winger said. “He’s been the most valuable player on the team this year. Brian (Russell) has obviously done some great things offensively, but we wouldn’t get into the positions we get into without Michael. We have faced pressure all year and the kid is so mentally tough.”
Perhaps not the most fluid ballhandler but long on intelligence, Thompson dribbled through and around Trojans.
He was especially effective in the first quarter as LC jumped on the Trojans early.
Both teams were tight in the opening 4 minutes, but after Post Falls’ Mike McLean made a shot under the basket the Trojans wouldn’t score until the second quarter.
By then, though, LC had a comfortable 21-8 lead.
But as well as the T-Wolves played the first 8 minutes, they were pathetic at times in the second quarter. A 3-pointer from 25 feet at the buzzer by Post Falls’ Ryan Edmonds trimmed LC’s lead to 26-21 at halftime. LC didn’t score the final 5:12 of the first half.
The Trojans wouldn’t get any closer than two points in the second half (34-32). A 7-0 spurt put LC ahead 41-32 going into the fourth quarter.
The lone positive for Post Falls was its defense on Russell, who was held to 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting. T-Wolf Bryan Kelly led with 17.
LC’s defense held Post Falls to a season-low 47 points (58 was the Trojans’ previous low in a loss to Kellogg).
Winger, in fact, had planned to open in a matchup zone. But switched to man-to-man before the game.
Post Falls coach Scott Moore said the loss was a slap in the face to his team.
“The way we’ve won ballgames is we’ve hit the boards, we were smart with the basketball and we played as a team,” Moore said. “Tonight we got outrebounded, we threw the ball away too many times and tried to go too much one-on-one.”
Edmonds led the Trojans with 14.
Lake City 55, Post Falls 47 Post Falls 8 13 11 15 - 47 Lake City 21 5 15 14 - 55
POST FALLS Curtis, Alexander 5, Edmonds 14, Roberts 2, Hollenbeck 3, Pope 7, Pichotta 0, McLean 8, Cudmore 0, Lee 8.
LAKE CITY Thompson 15, Kelly 17, Russell 11, Hoover 2, Wilson 0, Miller 7, Beadell 3, Shaw 0, Keefer 0.