Post Falls Sweeps Lakeland, Lives High On Hog

The Post Falls High boys and girls basketball teams and their spirited fans were ball hogs Tuesday night.

The Trojans girls started it by running over Lakeland 61-35 before the boys posted a well-executed 64-54 victory before a packed gym in the third annual Battle of the Prairie Pig spirit contest between the schools.

Then Post Falls’ fans put a fitting exclamation point on the evening by bringing home the bacon. They were awarded the battery-operated pig for displaying the most spirit.

Lakeland captured the pig the first two years.

Boys

Post Falls (5-9) never allowed struggling Lakeland (2-10) to get untracked in a 64-54 Border League boys basketball victory on Tuesday night.

The Trojans led the whole game, zipping to a 16-8 lead early.

Two free throws by Ryan Hansen to open the second quarter pulled Lakeland within 18-15. But that’s as close as the Hawks would get.

Post Falls owned a steady eightpoint lead through the second quarter before extending the advantage to double digits throughout most of the second half.

A 3-pointer by Darren McKinnon gave Post Falls a 52-39 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Through three quarters, the Trojans committed just five turnovers. A stretch of careless ball-handling and passing saw Post Falls double that figure.

Still, Lakeland couldn’t take advantage. The Hawks had back-toback opportunities to cut the deficit under 10 points midway in the fourth period, but couldn’t convert.

A 3-pointer by Jon Garrett put the game out of touch at 61-48 with 3:40 remaining.

Four Trojans scored in double figures. Point guard Scott Klaudt, who hit three 3-pointers, finished with a game-high 19 points; wing Josh Miller had 13; and McKinnon and Eli Thornley added 11 each.

Harrison Bertsch led Lakeland with 16 points and Joe Finley came off the bench to chip in 12.

Post Falls 64, Lakeland 54

Lakeland 13 14 12 15 - 54

Post Falls 18 17 17 12 - 64

Lakeland (2-10) - Bertsch 16, Gorton 2, Finley 12, Stanford 0, Skidmore 6, Hansen 6, M. Banks 5, S. Banks 0, Keeler 2, Mudge 5.

Post Falls (5-9) - Smith 0, Klaudt 19, McKinnon 11, Garrett 3, Miller 13, Richards 0, Dreckman 2, Thornley 11, Johnson 0, Hutchison 1, Adams 4.

Girls

Post Falls doubled its pleasure. The Trojans had two times more shots than Lakeland.

“They got after us,” said Lakeland coach Steve Seymour, whose team (13-3) moved into first place Saturday in the Intermountain League. “We played too tentatively. Their quickness and height hurt us. We didn’t respond.”

The game was much like the boys contest, especially at the beginning. Post Falls opened an 18-9 lead. But the Trojans continued to add to the margin.

“We came out so fired up and the adrenaline was pumping so hard that we were hurrying on a few shots,” said Post Falls coach Chris Johnson, whose team improved to 12-6.

What the “hurrying” did, though, was give Post Falls double the shots in the first half and nearly double for the game. Post Falls made 24 of 67 attempts from the field to Lakeland’s 12 of 36.

“I thought we executed well,” Johnson said. “This was a great tuneup for the regional tournament.”

Post Falls’ Janelle Ruen had her usual night, finishing with a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.

Three other Trojans reached double figures. Post Desiree Johnson had 14 points and freshman Shawna Foster and Megan Billetz added 13 each.

Paige Smith, who made a 3-pointer from midcourt to end the game, led Lakeland with 12 points.

Post Falls 61, Lakeland 35

Lakeland 9 11 4 11 - 35

Post Falls 18 14 15 14 - 61

Lakeland (13-3) - Douglas 0, Jamison 3, Smith 12, Desmarais 6, Austad 0, Kirkpatrick 0, Waller 7, Egbert 3, Duvall 2, Berger 2.

Post Falls (12-6) - Billetz 13, Clutter 0, McLean 2, Roberge 2, Wagner 0, Olson 0, Ruen 17, Johnson 14, Foster 13.