Viks Elevate To No. 1 Wood’s Effort Keys Triumph In A-1 Title Game

When the Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball team needed a big play at the most important time, its leader stepped forward.

Check that. He dove on the shiny hardwood of the Idaho Center - like he did at an equally critical point a minute earlier and like he did countless times during the year.

The Vikings’ leader in heart, senior David Wood, forced a held ball with 4.5 seconds remaining, clinching CdA’s 56-53 victory over Borah in the State A-1 championship game Saturday.

“I just went after the ball. That’s what I do every game,” Wood said matter of factly. “You have to have the ball to win the game.”

It didn’t surprise coach Larry Bieber that Wood made the defensive stop.

“Just go look at his knees if you want to see somebody who’s spent some time on the floor the past three days,” Bieber said. “He’s all guts. He’s done a fantastic job like that all year.”

A minute earlier, Wood got a steal at midcourt doing what was second nature to him - diving on the floor for a loose ball. As he tried to pass the ball ahead to Jim Rupp, who would have scored an uncontested layup, Wood was fouled.

CdA, which saw all of its 18-2 lead after the first quarter dissolve, trailed 53-51 when Wood stepped to the foul line for a one-and-one with 1:19 remaining.

He made both shots.

After a missed shot by Borah with 47 seconds left, CdA had the ball. Borah’s Adam Duncan tried to steal the ball from Rupp, but was called for a foul.

Rupp made the first of the double-bonus opportunity with :38 on the clock. Borah allowed 25 seconds to expire before taking a timeout with :15 left. Rupp caused Duncan to pick up his dribble and the Lion made an errant pass that teammate Booker Nabors couldn’t corral. Wood pounced on the ball and the Viks took over on the alternating possession.

After a timeout, CdA post Kevin DeArmond stood in front of Borah’s bench. A split-second after the referee handed him the ball, Rupp broke toward his basket and DeArmond lobbed a perfect pass in stride.

Rupp took a couple of dribbles and caught teammate Casey Hoorelbeke trail ing to his left unguarded. That’s when Rupp, a hotdog on a short leash this season who’s played with uncharacteristic discipline, unsealed the lid off the mustard and softly flicked a behind-the-back pass to Hoorelbeke who scored a layup at the buzzer.

The game started as if Coeur d’Alene would blow out Borah. But it wasn’t just a quick spurt of scoring.

Borah didn’t score a basket in the first quarter. CdA opened a 13-0 lead before the Lions scored two free throws.

The Lions, who made 11 3-pointers the night before, missed their first 14 shots, eight of which were 3-point attempts.

Nabors finally broke the basket drought when he scored a layup off a steal at the 6:55 mark of the second quarter.

Foul trouble hurt CdA in the second period. By team rule, any player who picks up two fouls must sit out the remaining minutes of the first half.

Bieber had three starters on the bench with him for the nearly the entire second period - Rupp, Hoorelbeke and Wood.

And CdA got out of its tempo, committing seven turnovers.

So the 16-point advantage was sliced to 30-23 by halftime. Borah’s Billy Sandoval hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to give the Lions renewed hope.

The Lions grabbed one-point leads twice late in the third quarter, but steady reserve post Kurt Sigler took a nice pass from Wood to put CdA ahead 47-44 going into the final quarter.

The momentum was up for grabs midway through the fourth quarter when CdA committed five turnovers in a 2:17 span.

Just before the final drama, Borah seized the lead at 53-51 when Jarod Jostes made a 3-pointer with 2:47 remaining.

Moments before Bieber handed out the state title medals to his players, he took a moment to praise the coach of the last CdA team to win a state championship in 1972-73.

Dean Lundblad, now retired from teaching, directed the Viks to that title. He flew down Saturday and watched the Viks collect the seventh in school history.

Bieber’s first team as head coach four years ago posted the worst record in school history at 3-18. That, appropriately, will be overshadowed by Saturday’s feat.

“You saw at the end of the game that (David Wood) was not going to let us lose,” said Bieber, whose team finishes 22-4.

CdA 56, Borah 53

Borah 2 21 21 9 - 53

Coeur d’Alene 18 12 17 9 - 56

BORAH - Rodriguez 0, Dawidczik 0, Jostes 3, Nabors 23, Shaw 2, Duncan 0, Webb 9, Sandoval 14, Sikes 0, Teigen 2.

COEUR D’ALENE - Je. Rupp 0, Chambers 4, Ji. Rupp 14, Wood 7, DeArmond 2, Hoorelbeke 8, Sigler 7, O’Dowd 14.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Notable The win marks CdA’s first state crown in 25 years, seventh in school history. The title comes on the weekend of the 70th anniversary of the school’s first basketball championship.