Vikings Get Past Post Falls, But It Doesn’T Come Easily

Boys basketball

The Post Falls High boys basketball team suffered its 16th loss in as many Border League games Saturday.

But Trojans coach Wade Quesnell hasn’t given up on his team.

For 2-1/2 quarters, Post Falls gave much more talented Coeur d’Alene fits. But a late third-quarter run gave the Vikings all the breathing room they’d need as they pulled away to win 62-51 in Trojan Gym.

“All in all I think our kids performed pretty well considering it was our fourth game in five nights,” Quesnell said. “The last three games - mentally and execution - are the best we’ve played all year. All we can hope is we can build on this and go into the (regional) tournament as a team that somebody’s going to prepare for. If they don’t, we just might step up and bite somebody.”

At this point that would be a big leap of faith. But for nearly three quarters Saturday the Trojans had the Vikings more than concerned.

“We started out with no energy and were really flat,” said CdA coach Larry Bieber, whose team improved to 8-10 overall, 6-10 in league and kept itself in position for a first-round regional game at home.

Neither team would have been cited for playing any defense - at least in the first half. It was literally an exchange of baskets at both ends of the court.

A minute into the second quarter, David Adams hit a 3-pointer to gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 22-15. But the Viks outscored Post Falls 15-4 the rest of the quarter for a 30-28 lead at halftime.

It would be the first of two key runs by CdA.

Post Falls regained the lead briefly at 36-34 in the third quarter when Darren McKinnon, leaping in the air, took an inbounds pass in the key for a short shot.

But CdA closed out the period with a 12-1 run. The Viks’ final basket came from Stewart Rogers, who got loose in the key and took a nice entry pass from Jason Rupp to give the Viks a 46-37 going into the fourth quarter.

That run extended to 15-1 when Rupp hit a 3-pointer to open the final period. Rogers completed a three-point play moments later to give CdA its biggest lead at 54-40 with 5:35 remaining.

CdA was a victim of its own unforced mistakes. The Viks committed 19 turnovers - about 15 too many against soft defense.

“I think some of our kids thought we’d just show up and walk out the door with a win,” Bieber said. “But I told them they may be a 2-15 team but they’d play us really tough.”

When CdA got the ball inside, the Trojans couldn’t stop the Viks. Rogers and Sather did most of the damage, combining for 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting. Rogers led with 17. Wing Sam Conley added 15.

David Adams led Post Falls with 17 points. McKinnon added 16.

CdA gained a game on Sandpoint (4-11) Saturday as Lewiston beat the visiting Bulldogs 61-51.

Both CdA and Post Falls return to action Wednesday. The Viks play host to Lake City and the Trojans entertain Sandpoint in games key to regional seeding.

Coeur d’Alene 15 15 16 16 - 62

Post Falls 17 11 9 14 - 51

Coeur d’Alene (8-10, 6-10) - Simon 1 0-0 3, Rupp 3 0-0 7, Bligh 0 0-0 0, Sande 1 0-0 2, Rogers 6 5-5 17, Wilkey 0 0-0 0, Sather 5 0-0 10, Conley 5 3-3 15, Findley 2 0-0 4, Alderman 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 8-8 62.

Post Falls (2-16, 0-16) - Smith 3 2-3 8, Fetters 0 0-0 0, McKinnon 5 4-7 16, Garrett 1 0-0 2, Hutchison 0 2-2 2, Ward 1 0-0 2, Da. Adams 6 2-3 17, De. Adams 0 1-2 1, Haas 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 12-19 51.

3-point goals - Conley 2, Rupp, Simon, Da. Adams 3, McKinnon 2. Total fouls - Coeur d’Alene 11, Post Falls 13. Fouled out - Smith. Technicals - none.

West Valley 59, Colville 49

Lance Pecht scored 24, hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers, and John Focht added 14 rebounds as the Eagles defeated the visiting Indians to clinch a tie for the league title.

Focht added three blocked shots and Kris Sly had five assists for WV. The Eagles play at Cheney on Tuesday to try to claim the title outright.

Colville 12 8 9 20 - 49

West Valley 12 12 20 15 - 59

Colville (9-9, 7-9) - Trudgeon 1 1-1 4, S. Goble 1 2-2 4, Sprangers 1 0-0 2, Banich 5 1-2 13, N. Goble 1 0-0 2, Drozdowski 0 0-0 0, Bassett 2 2-4 6, Mostek 3 1-2 8, Bradeen 3 1-2 8, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Ferguson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-13 49.

West Valley (18-1, 16-1) - Kopp 1 0-0 3, Sly 2 1-1 5, McIntyre 1 4-4 6, Pecht 8 4-6 24, Hamilton 0 1-2 1, Gordon 2 4-4 8, Harris 0 0-0 0, Focht 3 4-5 10, Hollifield 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, French 0 2-2 2, Bullock 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 20-26 59.

3-point goals - Trudgeon, Banich 2, Mostek, Bradeen, Kopp, Pecht 4. Total fouls - Colville 20, West Valley 14. Fouled out - Bassett. Technicals - none.

Cheney 58, Clarkston 40

Shon Volk made 7 of 12 field goals and the Blackhawks jumped to a 13-0 lead to cruise past the visiting Bantams.

Cheney’s Mike Randall and Ryan Harris added five rebounds apiece.

Clarkston 7 6 14 13 - 40

Cheney 15 15 12 16 - 58

Clarkston (4-14, 4-12) - Pfeifer 0 0-0 0, Holly 0 1-2 1, Fraser 3 3-4 11, Shelden 4 4-6 12, Bolland 0 0-0 0, Howell 0 0-0 0, Hayes 1 0-0 2, Blume 2 2-4 7, Entel 1 2-2 4, Madison 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 12-18 40.

Cheney (16-2, 14-2) - Humphrey 1 0-0 2, Larson 1 0-2 2, Harris 1 2-2 4, Volk 6 5-7 18, Randall 2 2-3 7, Hegney 1 0-0 2, Mount 2 0-0 4, Woodard 5 2-2 12, Laughlin 1 1-2 3, Marsh 0 2-4 2, Stoddard 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 14-22 58.

3-point goals - Fraser 2, Blume, Madison, Volk, Randall. Total fouls - Clarkston 17, Cheney 16. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Intermountain League

Priest River 76, St. Maries 72 (OT)

Ryan Bodecker forced overtime on a halfcourt shot with 5 seconds left, and he finished with four 3-pointers in the visiting Spartans’ win over the Lumberjacks.

Priest River finished 7 of 15 from the field. Kyle Stevenson of the Lumberjacks had eight rebounds.

Pr.River 20 7 16 20 13 - 76

St. Maries 14 22 14 13 9 - 72

Priest River (12-7, 4-5) - Bodecker 19, Troumbley 2, Zmuda 13, Smith 8, Warren 11, Kucherry 0, R. White 4, Brennan 11, S. White 2, Cash 6.

St. Maries (8-8, 2-5) - Duffey 12, Larsen 14, Howland 8, Eberlin 14, Cowin 0, Shaw 2, Brown 0, Harvey 0, Raebel 3, Stevenson 12, Adams 7.

Bonners Ferry 46, Timberlake 42

Andy Rice totaled nine rebounds and the Badgers defeated the visiting Tigers.

Timberlake rallied in the fourth quarter, but the Badgers’ Adam Vogl hit 4 of 4 free throws to hold off the Tigers. BF outscored the Tigers 12-4 at the line.

Timberlake 8 8 9 17 - 42

Bonners Ferry 13 9 15 9 - 46

Timberlake (3-11, 1-6) - Woodley 0, Wyatt 5, Mattison 4, Gilbert 0, Cypher 15, Baker 5, Hoffman 0, Holderman 13, Griffin 0.

Bonners Ferry (11-8, 4-4) - Story 4, Stephens 2, Roberts 0, Vogl 13, Hiatt 0, Cossairt 2, Villelli 0, Figgins 2, Elliston 10, Rice 7, Solum 4, Duarte 2.