Riverside knocks Lakeside out of district tourney

Riverside hit 18 of 22 free throws in the second half to edge visiting Lakeside 63-61 in a loser-out opener of the District 7 2A boys basketball tournament on Wednesday.

The Rams’ win kept Lakeside (10-11) from returning to the State 2A tournament. The Eagles placed sixth at state last year.

Pat Smart of the Rams (12-9) scored seven of his 12 points in the second half and finished 7 of 8 from the line. Riverside shot 20 of 29 from the line.

Riverside took a 30-19 halftime lead by hitting 6 of 8 field goals in the second quarter. Lakeside shot 2 of 4 from the field in the second quarter.

The Eagles made a late run behind Alex Stillar, who hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 24 points.

Riverside’s Jason Paul had eight rebounds.

Riverside and Lakeside split their Great Northern League season series. The Eagles won the last matchup.

The Rams advance to the double-elimination portion of the tourney and will play top-seeded Pullman (15-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Pullman.

Chewelah 70, Deer Park 55: Allen Stone and Michael McCanna combined for 36 points as the third-seeded Cougars (13-8) eliminated the sixth-seeded Stags (8-13) at Chewelah. Stone and Brett Mulligan scored five points apiece in the third quarter to boost the Cougars to a 17-point lead. Chewelah had six players score during its 20-point third quarter. Nathan Shea led the Stags with 14 points. DP was 0-3 against the Cougars this year. Chewelah will play at second-seeded Medical Lake (16-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday, in the double-elimination part of the tourney.