Hutchins helps hitch up PFC’s game in opener

CALDWELL, Idaho – Once John Hutchins figured out he was in a ballgame, nothing could stop Post Falls Christian in the first round of the State 1A boys basketball tournament.

The 6-foot-5 senior towered over Richfield – both literally and figuratively Wednesday night – leading the Eagles to a 54-41 opening-round victory at Vallivue High School.

“I fed off my teammates and the halftime (talk) and our coach (Tim Mitchell) when we came out for the second half,” Hutchins said. “That’s when I truly realized we were playing a basketball game.”

The win, PFC’s 20th without a loss this season, put the Eagles into a 7 p.m. PST semifinal today at Vallivue against Troy, a 52-38 winner over Council.

While it took an admittedly mild halftime chew from Mitchell to spark Hutchins and the rest of the Eagles, Richfield (18-8) – the fourth-place squad from District IV – discovered Hutchins was in the building with about 90 seconds left in the first half.

Playing a high-post defense, Hutchins leaped and swatted a 3-point attempt by the Tigers’ Max Piper so hard that it sparked a fast break.

At the other end of the floor, Hutchins found himself with the ball after a great pass from fellow senior Josiah Manes. He powered to the rack and cashed in a three-point play to cap a 7-0 spurt for a 23-16 edge for PFC.

“That woke me up big time,” Hutchins said of the blocked shot. “I got that block, and I love blocking shots.”

Hutchins evidently enjoys scoring with few misses, too.

He was 4 for 4 in the second half to close a 7-for-9 night from the floor and a team-high 17-points.

Relishing a 4-inch height advantage over Richfield’s tallest players, Hutchins owned the paint with 11 rebounds.

Six of his boards and three of his four blocked shots came in the second half.

“We’re a second-half team,” Mitchell said. “We start slow and finish strong. We rotate players in and out a lot, and we wear teams down.”

Hutchins played 28 minutes, and 6-2 junior swingman Max Munson (11 points, seven rebounds) played 21 1/2 while limiting opportunities for Richfield.

“Munson and Hutchins did a great job inside,” Mitchell said.

With a pronounced height advantage, one would think that the inside job would have been the road to victory from the start.

But the Eagles stuck with a balanced attack against Richfield’s sporadically sloppy defense – even if it meant a slew of seemingly hurried 3-point shots and flirting with one of their lowest point totals of the year.

PFC averaged nearly 68 points per game in its first 19 games.

Outside of a 45-34 victory over Clark Fork in the District I tournament final, the Eagles hadn’t posted fewer than 54 points since a 52-30 win over Kootenai on Jan. 6.

“We didn’t come in here expecting to blow anybody out,” Mitchell said. “We knew it would be tougher and tighter.”

Mackey 50, Mullan 33

Kelvin Krosch recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, as the Miners (19-3) jumped out to a 27-9 halftime lead and cruised to a win over the Tigers in the opening round at Caldwell.

Josh Hannah led the Miners with a game-high 13 points and Jared Gillish chipped in 10.

Jesse James’ 12 points led the Tigers (15-8), who also received 10 from Cory Pehan.

Play at Caldwell continues for Mullan today with a loser-out game against Hagerman (20-5) at 12:15 p.m. PST.

Mackay will play Lapwai, a 63-55 winner over Hagerman, in the quarterfinals.