Viks Keep Rollin’ Cda Holds Off Lewiston

The overtime was the easy part. Getting there was difficult.

But when Casey Hoorelbeke made a game-tying putback with 1 second left in regulation, every ounce of momentum swung to Coeur d’Alene.

The Vikings boys basketball team went on to a 56-50 victory over Lewiston before 1,700 Friday night at Viking Gym.

“I thought the time had run out, but when I looked up I saw it go from one to zero,” said Hoorelbeke, who scored all 16 of his points after halftime. “It was great. The crowd was really going.”

It was such a big win that CdA took command of two leagues - the Border and Inland Empire.

In the Border, which includes Washington schools, CdA (14-4 overall) improved to 12-2 and assumed sole possession of first place. If CdA wins one of its remaining two games, the Vikings will host the Region I Tournament, consisting of the five Idaho schools that make up the IEL.

Lewiston, which nearly snatched a victory with a gutsy fourth-quarter rally, dropped to 14-4, 11-3.

“Anytime you go into overtime when the other team scores at the buzzer, emotionally it’s tough to overcome, especially on the road,” Lewiston coach Dick Richel said.

Particularly after 6-foot-8 center Carson Egland fouled out with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter. Egland’s absence was noticeable in the closing seconds of regulation when Hoorelbeke hit his clutch basket.

The sequence started when Hoorelbeke missed from close range and Kyle Chambers’ off-balance putback was off target. Hoorelbeke’s stickback barely beat the buzzer.

“If we get one rebound at the end we’re in Colfax right now celebrating,” Richel said.

Instead, it was Vikings fans going bonkers. CdA didn’t put a pretty bow on its victory in overtime - but that wouldn’t have fit the tenor of this sometimes-sloppy game anyway.

Neither team made a field goal in overtime. Lewiston failed to score.

Hoorelbeke made two free throws and Chambers added another for a 53-50 lead with 2:39 left. Hoorelbeke, Jim Rupp and Lukas O’Dowd each added free throws to turn back the Bengals, who subdued themselves with four turnovers in the extra session.

“We were a little ragged and so were they,” Vikings coach Larry Bieber said. “We are going to shoot free throws at practice tomorrow for sure.”

CdA made just 6 of 12 free throws in overtime.

O’Dowd scored 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter as the Vikings led 17-9. O’Dowd and Hoorelbeke didn’t play in the second quarter because of foul trouble, but CdA expanded its lead to 27-14. The Bengals closed with an 8-0 run to trail 27-22 at halftime.

Hoorelbeke started heating up as the Vikings took a 37-27 lead into the wild fourth quarter.

Lewiston hit five 3s in the fourth - including back-to-backers by Steve Johnson - and took a 50-48 lead on Ryan Klamper’s layin with 15 seconds left.

“It looks like Coeur d’Alene’s going to host (the tournament),” Richel said. “Play it in Lewiston, play it here, play it in (CdA coach Larry) Bieber’s driveway, we’ll show up.”

Coeur d’Alene 56, Lewiston 50 (OT)

Lewiston 9 13 5 23 0 - 50

Coeur d’Alene 17 10 10 13 6 - 56

LEWISTON - Egland 9, Pierce 6, Maurer 5, Eck 9, Johnson 14, Holmes 3, Couch 2, Klamper 2.

COEUR d’ALENE - Chambers 5, Ji. Rupp 13, Wood 2, Hoorelbeke 16, O’Dowd 16, DeArmond 2, Sigler 2.

W. Valley 77, E. Valley 67

West Valley post player Chris Gregg decided it was better being on the basketball floor than sitting next to his coach.

The result was a big second half that helped the Eagles to a victory over East Valley in the Golden Throne spirit game.

“Coach told me, ‘Go after the boards, son,”’ said Gregg, “and if I got the open shot to take it.”

Thus properly instructed, he responded with six second-half rebounds and 13 of his 16 points.

Gregg, a 6-foot-4 junior, is one of three Eagle post players who have been challenged by coach Joe Feist to provide another dimension for the team.

“We have a good perimeter game,” said Feist. “We can be better if the inside guys do things.”

Against EV, the trio that includes junior Ryan Spivey and sophomore John Focht, got the job done, combining for 29 points and 17 rebounds.

“They played hard and did a better job inside,” acknowledged Feist.

Intermountain League

St. Maries 48, Bonners Ferry 41 (OT)

Mark Raebel’s 11 first-half points led the Lumberjacks (11-4, 5-1) past the visiting Badgers (6-11, 1-7) in overtime.

Bonners Ferry 11 11 6 11 2 - 41

St. Maries 10 9 15 5 9 - 48

BONNERS FERRY - Winey 2, Clark 4, Bateman 8, Blanford 0, Baker 2, Rice 10, Zimmerman 4, Merrill 11.

ST. MARIES - Krebs 15, Duffey 6, Willard 2, D.J. Eberlin 7, Driggs 1, Holdahl 1, Raebel 16.

Non-league

Kellogg 64, Wallace 52

Casey Marek’s 29 points on 7-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers, and Heath Marek’s eight blocked shots helped the Wildcats (9-7) past the host Miners (5-10). Kellogg had 13 blocked shots.

Kellogg 19 15 11 19 - 64

Wallace 11 10 13 18 - 52

KELLOGG - Morden 0, Lewis 8, Blalack 6, C.Marek 29, Vetten 0, Neff 2, Absec 0, Bircher 1, Carlson 8, H.Marek 4, Mangum 4, Oertli 2.

WALLACE - Grattic 8, D.Lee 9, K.Lee 0, Meek 3, Fleming 15, Sprute 12, Pluid 0, Blanchard 0, J.Lee 5.

Girls - North Star League

Lakeside 47, Clark Fork 31

Angela Flint scored five points in the final 3 minutes to lead the Knights (16-3, 8-0) past the visiting Wampus Cats (10-10, 2-6). Jamie Saunders grabbed six rebounds and had three steals for Clark Fork.

Lakeside 13 17 3 14 - 47

Clark Fork 11 5 11 4 - 31

LAKESIDE - Flint 19, McPeak 2, Mi.Middleton 2, Ma.Middleton 14, Kelly 0, Fuchs 2, Mullen 8.

CLARK FORK - Miller 12, Manderscheid 0, Scofield 2, Dugan 0, Saunders 4, Decker 2, Hess 11, McDaniels 0.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)