Juhlin, Post Falls Sink Vikings In Ot

Junior post Chad Juhlin sank 6 of 8 free throws in overtime to lift Post Falls to a 70-65 victory over Coeur d’Alene in a wild Inland Empire League boys basketball game Thursday night.

Three of those free throws came on the same play, as Vikings guard Ben Davis fouled Juhlin for his fifth personal with 1:44 left in OT, then drew a technical for swearing.

Juhlin hit the second of two shots resulting from the personal foul to tie the game 65-65, then drained both technical shots to put the Trojans ahead for keeps.

“I was a little nervous,” Juhlin said of the four-shot situation.

Juhlin finished with a game-high 24 points, making 15 of 17 free throws.

“He stepped it up,” Post Falls coach Scott Moore said. “He hit some key free throws and did a great job on the boards.

“The big turning point is, we did a much better job blocking out in the second half,” Moore added.

The game of spurts featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.

Coeur d’Alene reserve Ty Kovatch forced the OT, drawing a foul on sophomore Chad Quesnell as he attempted a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Post Falls used a timeout before Kovatch’s free throws, but the junior drained all three free throws to pull the Vikings even at 60-60.

Coeur d’Alene (7-10, 1-5) fell behind by 11 with 2:35 to go in the first quarter, but picked up the pace as 5:34 remained in the half.

The Vikings outscored the hosts 18-5 behind 14 combined points from post Luke O’Dowd and reserve guard Ryan Corbeill.

A steal by reserve Nic Lowry, who fed Josh Davis for a layup 3:56 before halftime, gave Coeur d’Alene its first lead of the game at 23-21.

The Viks led 28-27 at halftime.

Post Falls (9-7, 4-2) regained the lead with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, and a three-point play conversion by Juhlin made it 51-42 with 6:50 left in the fourth quarter.

Six points from Ben Davis, including a layup off a steal by Jesse Hoorelbeke at 1:27, brought Coeur d’Alene to within 55-54.

Corbeill stole the ball at 1:12, but the Vikings were called for traveling at 1:01 in front of their student cheering section. A pop can was thrown from the crowd and referee Dave Oakes called a technical foul.

“We come up empty again, 1-5 in league,” Vikings coach Larry Bieber said. “It’s a hard one to swallow, to work so hard and come up with an L.”

Post Falls 70, CdA 65 (OT)

Coeur d’Alene 9 19 11 21 5 - 65 Post Falls 16 11 18 15 10 - 70

COEUR D’ALENE J. Davis 6, Milionis 0, Lowry 0, Corbeill 12, Lee 1, B. Davis 9, Hermstad 4, Kovatch 8, O’Dowd 19, Hoorelbeke 6.

POST FALLS Bechel 0, Alexander 5, Quesnell 13, McLean 1, Hollenbeck 10, Campbell 6, O’Briant 2, Lee 9, Juhlin 24.

, DataTimes