Vikings Wake Up In Time To Stop Lewiston, 50-36

In a game in which neither players nor crowd seemed interested, Coeur d’Alene beat Lewiston 50-36 Friday night in a Inland Empire League war of submission.

The Vikings stifled Lewiston with man-to-man defense and found enough success from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to hold off the Bengals.

“It was hard to get up for this game,” said Vikings forward Casey Hoorelbeke, who led CdA with 11 points and nine rebounds. “The crowd was dead and there was no pep band so it was tough.”

Hoorelbeke provided the game’s highlight as he recorded his first dunk in a varsity game with 1:30 left in the third quarter. The 6-foot-5 junior made a steal at halfcourt and finished with a two-handed slam that brought the crowd of 300 to its feet.

“That takes a load off me because everyone at school’s been bugging me about when I’d get one,” Hoorelbeke said.

Hoorelbeke may be the only Viking who will want to remember the game. The team shot 15 for 43 from the field including an uncharacteristically tough night for the Vikings’ leading scorer, Lukas O’Dowd. O’Dowd was 3 of 14 from the field and ended up with 10 points.

“Luke’s not squaring up,” CdA coach Larry Bieber said. “He’s getting good shots, but they’re not falling.”

Bieber felt his team played well defensively, a fact that was especially evident in the first quarter. It took Lewiston 6 minutes to score its first basket and the Vikings led 9-4 at the end of the quarter. Both teams picked up momentum in the second quarter as the Vikings were sparked by a pair of Jim Rupp 3-pointers to take a 24-18 halftime lead.

“We’ve struggled to score points all year,” Lewiston coach Dick Richel said. “We didn’t get anything easy from them tonight.”

Lewiston (8-9, 2-3) shot just 2 of 11 from 3-point range, which helped kill its attempt at a late comeback after pulling within seven points with 4:30 left in the game.

Coeur d’Alene (12-6, 4-2) made 9 of 12 free throws in the last 2:00 to secure the victory.

Lewiston has been plagued by sluggish offense all year, averaging just 51 points a game.

“I thought we played well on the road; it didn’t seem like a 14-point loss,” Richel said.

Coeur d’Alene 50, Lewiston 36

Lewiston 4 14 6 12 - 36

Coeur d’Alene 9 15 13 13 - 50

Lewiston - White 5, Charlo 2, Eck 4, Pierce 8, Johnson 3, Hardin 2, Egland 9, Smith 1, Lupinacci 2.

Coeur d’Alene - Rupp 6, Gibbs 6, Wood 3, Davis 2, Chapman 4, Kovatch 6, Hoorelbeke 11, Sigler 2, O’Dowd 10.