Post Falls Lines Up For Win Free Throws Key Factor As Lc Falls
The telling factor in the Post Falls-Lake City Inland Empire League boys basketball game Friday essentially came down to a veteran team against one suffering through growing pains.
And the difference manifested itself at the free-throw line, where Post Falls secured the victory over Lake City by an 80-68 count in an intense, foul-marred contest before an estimated crowd of 1,100 at LC.
Post Falls made 35 of 45 foul shots (78 percent) while LC converted only half of its attempts, 19 of 38. In a win earlier in the week, the Timberwolves shot 80 percent.
“The big story for us was the freethrow line,” said Post Falls coach Scott Moore, whose club upped its overall record to 7-3 and went to 2-0 in league. “We haven’t been that consistent there this year, but we needed it tonight.”
Said LC coach Jim Winger: “They made free throws and we didn’t. We played very uptight but they’re young kids. I don’t think we loosened up the whole game. But I can’t be too upset with a young team.”
It was LC’s league opener as it evened its overall mark at 6-6.
A 3-pointer from 27 feet at the buzzer by Post Falls’ Jeremy McLean provided the double-digit margin. Otherwise, the game was fairly tight. Leading 35-32 going into the third quarter, Post Falls opened a comfortable cushion by making four straight 3s.
Trojans senior guard Brason Alexander and Chad Quesnell each hit two treys. And Quesnell added two free throws to give Post Falls its biggest lead, 51-40, with 3:33 left in the period.
A three-point play by Gabe Hern and a 7-foot jumper in the key by Chad Cheeley helped the T-Wolves trim the lead to seven at 54-47 going into the fourth period.
Although LC had plenty of opportunities to tighten the score, Post Falls’ lead fluctuated between six and 11 for much of the fourth quarter.
For a game plagued by fouls - LC was called for 33 fouls to Post Falls’ 29 - there were stretches of fine play between the team picked to capture the league crown (Post Falls) and the club picked to finish last (Lake City).
Moore didn’t feel comfortable until late.
“I think every (game) is going to be like this - especially any time these two teams get together,” Moore said. “It’s going to be intense, it’s going to be hot, it’s going to be rockin’. I’m really looking forward to a rematch because that’s a good club (LC) and they’re only going to get better. Then again, so are we.”
Quesnell scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half. McLean (8 of 8 free throws) had 15 and Alexander added 11. Quesnell also led the Trojans at the foul line where he made 13 of 16 shots.
Another lift for the Trojans came from reserves Shane Therrian and Chad Juhlin.
Therrian, who was the 12th player kept on a 12-member junior varsity last year, scored 11 points, seven in the fourth quarter. And the 6-foot-5 Juhlin stepped behind the 3-point arc and made both of his attempts in the second half.
“He’s actually one of our top 3-point shooters,” Moore said.
Cheeley scored a game-high 24 and Hern chipped in 14.
Winger praised the Trojans.
“A lot of those kids have been around two or three years and they wanted it,” Winger said. “They’re very good. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Post Falls 80, Lake City 68
Post Falls 15 20 19 26 - 80
Lake City 15 17 15 21 - 68
Post Falls - Quesnell 21, Alexander 11, Bohn 8, McLean 15, Lee 4, Therrian 11, Juhlin 6, Fehling 2, Curlee 2.
Lake City - Camantigue 5, Cheeley 24, Barlow 2, Anderson 0, Bramlet 5, Stroh 4, Hern 14, Morris 2, Nipp 4, J. Reiswig 4, R.J. Reiswig 4.
CdA 72, Lewiston 48
Eddie Gibbs poured in 21 points to lead a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Vikings (8-4, 1-1), who broke open a close game with 28 fourth-quarter points.
Host Lewiston (6-4, 0-1) received 16 points and 11 rebounds from Carson Egland and 10 points from Sennett Pierce, but couldn’t withstand CdA’s late scoring burst.
Casey Hoorelbeke scored 13 points for the Vikings. Lukas O’Dowd and Ben Davis added 11 and 10, respectively.
Coeur D’Alene 15 13 16 28 - 72
Lewiston 11 12 14 11 - 48
COEUR D’ALENE O’Dowd 11, Davis 10, Kovatch 0, Gibbs 21, Hoorelbeke 13, Wood 2, Rupp 7, Dretke 2, Chapman 4, Sigler 2.
LEWISTON Maurer 3, White 0, Benner 0, Charlo 5, Eck 0, Pierce 10, Frasier 2, Sullivan 4, Hardin 0, Egland 16, Smith 2, Lupinacci 6.
Intermountain League
St. Maries 51, Bonners Ferry 46
Ty Konkright scored a game-high 18 points and teammate Chris Weinmann added 13 points and 14 rebounds to help lift the Lumberjacks (4-4, 1-1) past the visiting Badgers (4-3, 1-1).
St. Maries shot 51 percent from the field, while holding Bonners Ferry to 30 percent.
Adam Hiatt scored 17 points for the Badgers.
Bonners Ferry 11 11 9 15 - 46
St. Maries 9 14 15 13 - 51
BONNERS FERRY Barry 0, LaMarsh 0, Bahe 6, Hiatt 17, Arthur 0, Meeker 4, Ross 6, Ashby 4, Hurst 0, Zimmerman 0, Robertson 5, Staples 4.
ST. MARIES Eccles 6, Boyd 0, Craner 2, Mettler 0, Eberlin 4, Konkright 18, Weinmann 13, Bifford 0, Raebel 8, Brebner 0, Lanning 0.
Non-league
Lakeside 71, Wallace 51
Andrew Twiss scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Knights (5-1) breezed to a non-league win over the Miners (0-6).
Lakeside, which raced to a 39-25 halftime lead, also got 16 points from Brendon Nelson, who made all eight of his field goal tries. Wallace was paced by Jake Sprute’s 16 points.
Wallace 14 11 17 9 - 51
Lakeside 18 21 16 15 - 70
WALLACE Carlson 5, Grattic 2, Johnson 2, Lee 6, Fleming 2, Basham 4, Sprute 16, Schillereff 6, Lavigne 8.
LAKESIDE (PLUMMER,ID) - Twoteeth 9, Nelson 16, Lozeau 4, Lambert 10, T.Morris 8, Twiss 18, B.Morris 5.
Girls
Intermountain League
Bonners Ferry 63, Kellogg 39
The Badgers (8-1, 5-0) forced the visiting Wildcats (4-7, 2-1) into 25 turnovers and held league scoring leader Amy Lemon to eight points in romping to their fifth consecutive IML win.
Kellogg 6 9 11 13 - 39
Bonners Ferry 20 14 15 14 - 63
KELLOGG Magnus 4, Greibil 2, Burkgart 3, Vork 4, Stevens 0, Lemon 8, Burg 5, Hei 4, Luchini 2, Hunt 0, Connors 3, Delcomte 4.
BONNERS FERRY Walter 3, Decker 5, Bateman 10, J.Larson 2, Myers 3, Braniff 10, Carey 4, Paulson 14, Downing 2, Carlson 0, Mormon 4, Ripatti 6.
North Star League
Falls Christian 50, Kootenai 39
Carmi Eberle scored a game-high 15 points and teammate Emilee Jackson added 11 points as the Eagles (6-6, 3-0) kept their NSL record unblemished by polishing off the visiting Warriors (3-6, 1-1).
Kim Williams had 11 rebounds for the winners.
Kootenai 8 7 11 13 - 39
Falls Christian 14 4 15 17 - 50
KOOTENAI S.Kraack 4, Reinhardt 0, Bornitz 12, Hunter 9, Goodson 0, Conley 8, Damiano 6.
FALLS CHRISTIAN Johnson 8, Eberle 15, Williams 6, Jackson 11, Gelnette 0, Moate 6, Taylor 2, M.Jenkins 2, Tuttle 0, Ap.Coy 0.
Non-league
Saint Maries 37, Wallace 31
Brianne Badget scored 11 points as the visiting Lumberjacks (4-8) stopped the Miners (5-7) in a non-conference defensive battle.
Badget had a steal and late basket to secure the win.
Saint Maries 7 5 17 8 - 37
Wallace 7 13 7 4 - 31
ST. MARIES Harpole 1, Holdahl 0, Boyd 0, Bonds 0, J.Wolfe 5, B.Wolfe 7, Badgett 11, Kunkel 4, Sotin 9, Gibson 0.
WALLACE Gregory 4, Calabretta 10, England 10, Nipp 7, Branstetter 0, Sleazer 0, Krulitz 0, Carrico 0, Striker 0.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo