Cda Can’T Handle Cheney Game Stays Close Despite Viks’ Turnovers

It wasn’t just the turnovers that cost the Coeur d’Alene boys basketball team a Border League win Tuesday night.

With 12 in the first half, it would seem as if the Vikings had decided their own fate, but that wasn’t the case. Despite the turnovers, CdA never trailed by more than seven points before bowing 55-49 to Cheney.

What actually sent the Vikings under was an explosive Cheney offense that got buckets from guards Rhett Humphrey and Ryan Harris, and eventually center Ben Woodard, who played with a slightly aggravated ACL, at all the right times.

“We just didn’t play well tonight,” Viks coach Larry Bieber said. “When you let this Cheney team stay in their tempo, they’ll put it to you.”

Both teams attempted to control the tempo to start the game, putting on their full-court defenses. It seemed as if it would become a back-and-forth game, with the teams exchanging buckets throughout the first quarter, ending the quarter with Cheney (4-2, 3-2) leading 14-13. But the turnovers started to pile up for CdA (2-3, 2-1), and they started to struggle to get good looks at the hoop.

“When I look at this film,” Bieber said, “I know I’m going to see guys wide open inside. We just stayed on the perimeter too much.”

Held to six points in the second quarter, the Vikings went to the locker room down 24-19.

The second half brought more of the same for CdA, as they continued to turn the ball over as a result of the Cheney press. But Cheney started to capitalize on them. The Blackhawks went on a tear, with Harris hitting two 3s and Humphrey getting three buckets of his own.

The Vikings’ Jackson Wilkey, who finished with 10 boards and nine points, kept them in the game, pulling down nearly every missed shot in the quarter.

“They brought their game,” Wilkey said of Cheney. “They made us play the length of the court. I was just trying to get rebounds and then get it to an outlet as fast as I could.”

Wilkey’s rebounds gave CdA a chance to get back in the game in the fourth quarter. Down seven to start the quarter, the Vikings went on a 9-4 run to make it 44-42.

“They finally woke up at the end there,” Bieber said. “It was just too late.”

Woodard took over from there, getting six points and playing a key defensive role down the stretch. Humphrey and Harris scored Cheney’s final five points, giving the trio a combined 45 points.

When Vikings guard Aaron Bligh, who led the Viks with 12 points, missed on a 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left, all chances of a comeback ended.

Cheney 14 10 16 15 - 55

Coeur d’Alene 13 6 14 16 - 49

Cheney (4-2, 3-2) - Ewen 0 0-0 0, Gardner 0 0-0 0, Harris 6 1-2 16, Hegney 0 0-0 0, Humphrey 5 4-5 16, Larson 2 0-0 5, Marsh 1 0-0 2, Oswald 1 1-1 3, Strampe 0 0-0 0, Woodard 5 3-5 13. Totals 20 9-13 55.

Coeur d’Alene (2-3, 2-1) - Bligh 4 2-2 12, Brown 0 0-0 0, Paulson 0 0-0 0, Rogers 4 2-4 10, Rupp 1 4-4 7, Sather 0 2-4 2, Simon 1 0-0 2, Viek 0 0-0 0, Whiteman 0 0-0 0, Wilkey 4 1-2 9, Wolfe 3 1-4 7. Totals 17 12-20 49.

3-point goals-Harris 3, Humphrey 2, Larson, Bligh 2. Total fouls-Cheney 19, Coeur d’Alene 15 . Fouled out-Wolfe. Technicals-None.