Trojans Bring Cda Back To Reality Post Falls Goes 1-1 In Iel With 85-39 Whipping Of Viks

If Post Falls’ 85-39 Inland Empire League boys basketball victory over the Coeur d’Alene Vikings on Saturday proves anything for sure, it’s that nothing is for sure in the topsy-turvy IEL.

The Vikings, riding an emotional high after their upset win over the Lake City Timberwolves on Thursday, were quickly brought back to earth by the fired-up Trojans.

And this is the same Trojan team that lost by eight points to Lake City a week ago.

Go figure.

Post Falls evened its IEL mark at 1-1 (10-2 overall) and, perhaps more importantly, picked up a much-needed mental boost.

“Our guys came out determined tonight,” Trojan coach Scott Moore said. “We didn’t play that well against Lake City and the guys knew they had to pick it up a notch.”

And pick it up they did - and early.

The Trojans broke out to an early 15-7 lead thanks largely to the play of Darick Pope. The senior post got loose inside for 10 first-quarter points, hitting all five of his shots from the field.

It only got worse for the Viks from there.

The Trojans, utilizing an aggressive trapping defense, then went on an 18-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to put the game out of reach.

Post Falls forced 14 first-half turnovers and held CdA to 30-percent shooting, while the Trojans converted on just over 50 percent to establish a 40-18 halftime lead.

“We just didn’t handle their press. That’s the bottom line,” CdA coach Larry Bieber said. “I don’t understand why. We’ve handled the press all year. We just don’t play well when we get behind.”

The Viks looked like they might get back into it to start the second half. CdA made its first three shots of the third quarter to cut Post Falls’ lead to 45-26.

But the Trojans would have none of it.

A 17-2 spurt by Post Falls, punctuated by a steal and resulting threepoint play by guard Ryan Edmonds with 1:17 left in the third quarter, killed any CdA hopes of a comeback.

Edmonds and senior teammate Mike McLean caught fire in that period.

The two guards combined for 22 of the Trojans’ 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

McLean, in particular, was on target, hitting on all three of his treys.

“We just tried to keep the pressure on CdA so we just kept puttin’ it up,” McLean said. “They went into a zone and no one was out on the wing so I got my feet set and let it fly.”

McLean led the Trojans with 24 points, while Pope contributed 16 points and nine rebounds. Edmonds finished with 12.

For CdA, which fell to 1-2 in the IEL and 2-10 overall, the loss was especially disappointing after its big win over Lake City.

“We were hoping that would get us over the hump - that it would be a turning point for us,” Bieber said. “It just didn’t work out that way.”

The Viks were led by the eight points of Bruce Coppess.

Post Falls 85, Coeur d’Alene 39

CdA 10 8 12 9 39 PF 24 16 25 20 85

CdA - Adamen 2, Coppess 8, Davis 2, Doerr 0, Pederson 6,

Corbeill 6, Clute 0, Wild 0, Stewart 0, Hermstad 0, Klassen 5, Fink 3, Zimmerman 0, Hoorelbeke 7.

POST FALLS Curtis 4, Alexander 2, Edmonds 12, Roberts 9, Hollenbeck 4, Pichotta 2, Pope 16, McLean 24, Cudmore 0, Lee 8, Froehlich 4.