Coeur d’Alene wins ugly
No offense intended, but the worst-played game between the cross-town rival girls basketball teams was better than what was witnessed after the first half of the 5A Region I boys opener Tuesday.
Coeur d’Alene survived a game that had all the appeal of a fly-infested carp for the final two quarters as the Vikings stopped Lake City 49-41 in a loser-out, offensively offensive game played before an estimated crowd of 800.
The Vikings (9-11) head to Lewiston (10-8) on Friday for Game 1 of the best-of-3 series. The winner advances to state, which will be held March 3-6 at the Idaho Center in Nampa. The loser can still earn a state berth in a play-in game the Saturday before state.
The game started as if it would be an offensive slugfest as both teams shot well in the opening 8 minutes. But it quickly digressed into the worst offensive display between the teams this season. Adding to both teams’ frustration was the stop-and-start flow, some of which was because the referees must have got caught up in the chaos too.
CdA’s combination of zone and trap defenses made enough stops to offset the Viks’ lack of offensive execution.
“Whenever we play Lake City three or four times – and it’s a hard-fought game – it’s going to be like that,” CdA coach Kent Leiss said.
What made the flow of the game hard to figure – not so much the final result – was the fact that LC (11-10) was coming off its best game of the year after knocking off Inland Empire League champ Post Falls for a second time and CdA had lost six of its last seven.
LC’s offensive plan worked initially as the T-Wolves worked their offense fluidly, getting open looks inside and outside. Senior point guard Ben Widmyer had five assists and made a 3-pointer in the first 5:37 of the first quarter as the T-Wolves opened their only substantial lead at 17-12.
But CdA scored the final six points of the period, and the Viks never trailed thereafter.
LC scored just 15 points in the second half. Still, the T-Wolves were never out of touch.
A 3-pointer by Widmyer with 6:37 to go pulled LC within 38-36. Moments later, a basket inside by Jarom Taylor on a nice pass from Ryan McPhee kept the T-Wolves close at 40-38.
A rebound basket and a driving layup by Nate Bligh allowed CdA to build a 45-38 led with 1:48 to go.
The Viks made 4 of 6 foul shots in the final 40 seconds to extend their season.
Leiss thought his team’s halfcourt trap slowed down LC in the second half.
“I thought it got them really confused and standing for a lot longer than they liked to stand,” Leiss said. “Then we made just enough buckets and enough free throws to hold them off. I really have to credit our defense.”
LC coach Kris Knowles had no explanation for his team’s inconsistent execution.
“It was a game of momentum and the momentum swung in their favor at the start of the third quarter,” Knowles said. “We’ve been living off that going our way the last couple of weeks. We got them playing pretty well the last couple of weeks. They really bought in. This is a hard one to swallow. I don’t know what it was; we were ready to go. Look at the first quarter.”
CdA lived at the free-throw line in the second half. Overall, the Viks made 17 of 25 to LC’s 7 of 10.
Matt Palmer led CdA with 16 points, while Jake and Joe Wolfe combined for 14 points and 15 rebounds. McPhee led LC with 11 points and seven rebounds.
North Star League
Lakeside steals win
Lakeside pulled down 40 rebounds and collected 18 steals in dismantling Kootenai, 78-36, in a game at Plummer. The Knights (18-1, 11-0) got 18 points each from Arthur Elwell and Tim Wolfe and shot 55 percent from the floor. Robert Goodson scored 10 points to lead Kootenai (4-15, 4-7). … Post Falls Christian 55, Clark Fork 42: The Eagles (14-6, 8-4) clinched a second-place finish in league with the victory at Post Falls, earning a first-round bye in the playoffs. Brack Adkins and Tim Laux both scored 14 points to lead PFC, which finished the regular season with just one home-court loss. Clark Fork (4-11, 3-7) got 11 points from Clayton Hewitt.
Intermountain League
Priest River needs OT at St. Maries
Priest River needed overtime to down St. Maries, 56-51, in a game at St. Maries. The Spartans led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, only to have the Lumberjacks close regulation on an 18-6 run, using a full-court press to force turnovers. Zech Szalasi scored the final seven points of regulation for St. Maries, including a put-back with four seconds left. Joey Stark scored seven of his 17 points in overtime for Priest River, hitting all four free throws down the stretch. Ryne Eberlin scored 20 points for the Lumberjacks (6-12, 0-7) Geoff Gregory scored 15 points for Priest River (12-8, 6-2). … Bonners Ferry 70, Timberlake 45: The Badgers used a big second half to score the win at Timberlake. Matt Rice poured in 20 points to lead Bonners Ferry (8-11, 6-1), seven in the fourth quarter, when the team closed on a 25-12 run. Matt Douglas scored 10 points to lead Timberlake (5-14, 1-6).