T-Wolves Finding Their Groove Lc Stops Post Falls For Back-To-Back Wins

It appears the Lake City High boys basketball team has regrouped after a midseason slide.

Post Falls coach Wade Quesnell, meanwhile, fears his team has the toe-ends of its sneakers hanging over the cliff of no return.

Shooting as well as it has all season, Lake City pulled away in the second half to a 66-49 victory in a Border League game Friday played before an estimated 1,300 at LC.

The Timberwolves (9-5 overall, 8-4 league) won their second straight for the first time since opening the season 4-0.

LC had lost four of its last six until a 63-58 win Tuesday at East Valley.

In the important positioning for postseason seeding, LC moved into a third-place tie with idle Lewiston (6-3) based on percentage. Lewiston defeated LC 58-44 in the first half of the season at Lewiston.

“We have a chance maybe to put something together and build toward the end of the year,” LC coach Jim Winger said. “We continue to play really hard. That’s why we’ve been able to stay in most of the games even when we’re shooting in the low 30s (percent). It’s amazing when the ball goes in how much easier things are for you.”

LC made 11 of 22 shots from the field in the first half. The T-Wolves were 19 of 37 before Winger cleared the bench the final 4 minutes.

The Trojans (3-7, 2-7) played hard, but never sustained any offense.

“We’re at the point in the season where we’re either going to get better or get worse,” said Quesnell, who spent 20 minutes in the locker room stressing the same thing to his players. “I’m not going to give up on this team. And I really don’t think these kids will give up on themselves. I think we’ll play out of it.”

LC’s score-by-committee form continued Friday. Post Justin Nipp had a team-high 14 points; wing Connor Quinn, one of LC’s most steady players all season, had 12; and Chad Bramlet, a starter until suffering a sprained ankle 2-1/2 weeks ago, came off the bench to chip in 13.

Post Falls’ lone lead came on a game-opening 3-pointer. LC led by as much as 11 points in the first half.

Three straight 3-pointers early in the third quarter by LC - one from Jeff Schuh and two from J.J. Barlow - blew open the game.

LC’s biggest lead came at 60-37 with 4:50 remaining.

Although Post Falls guard Scott Klaudt finished with a game-high 17 points, Winger thought his team’s zone made Klaudt work to score.

“We left him open twice and he hit them,” Winger said. “On the others, he had to work pretty hard. I thought our defense was a lot better in the second half.”

LC is off until it plays back-to-back home games next weekend against the league’s worst (Clarkston) and best (West Valley) teams.

Post Falls plays the second of a four-game road swing tonight against Cheney.

“I’ll take the effort; I think we took a step in the right direction,” Quesnell said. “We didn’t play smart, but we worked harder than we have been lately.”

Lake City 66, Post Falls 49

Post Falls 11 10 14 14 - 49

Lake City 16 14 22 14 - 66

Post Falls (3-7, 2-7) - Smith 0 2-2 2, Klaudt 7 1-3 17, Garrett 1 1-2 3, Miller 4 4-10 13, Richards 2 0-0 4, Dreckman 3 0-3 6, Thornley 1 0-0 2, Adams 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-21 49.

Lake City (9-5, 8-4) - Novotny 0 0-0 0, Barlow 3 0-0 9, Bramlet 5 2-2 13, Schuh 2 0-0 5, Reiswig 1 0-0 2, Lenz 1 0-1 2, Wilder 0 2-2 2, Nipp 5 4-8 14, Keefer 1 1-2 4, Stroh 1 1-2 3, Quinn 3 4-4 12, Dennis 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 14-21 66.

3-point goals - Klaudt, Miller, Barlow 3, Quinn 2, Bramlet, Schuh. Total fouls - Post Falls 20, LC 19. Fouled out - Thornley, Dreckman. Technicals - none.

West Valley 71, Moscow 66

Brad Groh hit an important 3-pointer as the Eagles overcame a five-point deficit to defeat the visiting Bears.

WV, ranked No. 4 in the 3A poll, overcame second-half foul trouble.

Moscow 10 23 15 18 - 66

West Valley 20 10 19 22 - 71

Moscow (6-6, 6-4) - Garrett 0 2-2 2, Brown 0 0-0 0, Walker 2 0-0 5, Busch 5 2-2 13, Comstock 3 2-2 8, Shupe 3 0-0 6, Johnson 1 1-2 3, Williams 6 6-6 18, Richards 0 0-0 0, Lee 2 1-2 5, Gilmore 1 0-1 2, Burton 1 2-4 4, Keep 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 16-21 66.

West Valley (9-0, 7-0) - Kopp 3 3-4 11, Sly 2 3-4 7, Hamilton 0 0-0 0, Pecht 0 0-0 0, Deno 2 0-2 6, Groh 6 0-1 13, Hollifield 0 0-0 0, Focht 2 6-6 10, Gregg 3 2-5 10, Spivey 3 2-4 8, French 0 0-0 0, Sorensen 2 2-2 6, Fusare 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 18-28 71.

3-point goals - Walker, Bush, Kopp 2, Deno 2, Groh, Gregg 2. Total fouls - Moscow 23, West Valley 22. Fouled out - Comstock, Deno. Technicals - Deno.

Sandpoint 53, Clarkston 40

The Bulldogs (6-6, 5-5) kept the Bantams (0-11, 0-9) winless.

Sandpoint 7 11 19 16 - 53

Clarkston 13 13 6 8 - 40

Sandpoint (5-6, 4-5) - Evans 0 0-0 0, Nieman 8 5-8 22, Singleton 1 2-2 4, Watson 3 8-10 15, Aumick 0 0-0 0, Palmer 0 0-0 0, Malone 0 0-1 0, Menard 3 1-2 7, Rinaldi 1 1-2 3, Mills 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 19-27 53.

Clarkston (0-10, 0-8) - Hayes 1 0-1 2, Smith 1 0-0 2, Cridlebaugh 0 1-2 1, Bolland 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, McCall 1 0-0 2, Howell 0 0-0 0, Cummings 0 0-0 0, Harrington 10 3-5 25, Storm 3 0-0 8, Sheldon 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-8 40.

3-point goals - Sandpoint 2 (Nieman, Watson), Clarkston 4 (Storm 2, Harrington 2). Total fouls - Sandpoint 14, Clarkston 21. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.