IEL boys know hunt begins with Bengals

This season’s Inland Empire League 5A boys basketball should be as competitive as it’s been in years.

Lewiston is heavily favored to capture the league championship and should challenge for the state title.

Lake City and Post Falls hope to challenge Lewiston when it travels this way, but the Bengals will be untouchable at home.

“I’d be hard-pressed not to say they’re the team to beat in the state,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said of Lewiston.

And then there’s Coeur d’Alene, which experienced a wholesale graduation and doesn’t return a starter, although junior shooting guard Devon Austin had starter-like minutes last year as the sixth man.

Vikings coach Kent Leiss expects his team to be in the hunt for a state berth.

Here’s the problem – just one automatic state berth is available. The regional runner-up can earn a state berth in a play-in game against the District III fifth-place team.

So if all four of these teams end up being as good as they hope, two will be on the outside looking in come state tournament time.

That’s why this could be the most intensely competitive league race.

This much is clear, though. All fingers, including those of Lewiston coach Dave Cornelia, point to the Bengals.

Eight lettermen and three starters return off a team that finished fourth at state.

“I think we’re the team to beat, but I don’t think anybody is going to hand it to us,” Cornelia said. “Could this be the best team we’ve had? I honestly don’t like to compare teams, but I will say that I think it’s the best defensive team we’ve had.”

At the end of the season a year ago, Lewiston was holding teams in the 30s and 40s.

“We don’t have to score 70 points to win,” Cornelia said. “If we stay healthy, this team could be special.”

As in, the best team Cornelia has had. He has taken teams to state seven straight years. He’s had two fourth-place finishes and probably should have had higher finishes. Even he would probably admit as much.

“I like our balance,” Cornelia said. “We’ve got inside presence, wing presence, kids who can put it on the floor, stand-still shooters. I could see eight different kids leading us in scoring on any given night.”

No other team has that complete package.

“They’re a very good defensive team,” Leiss said. “They’re big, they’re deep and they’re experienced. Without question, they have to be the favorite.”

Lake City is given a razor-thin edge over Post Falls and CdA. But PF and CdA won’t concede anything.

“With Jim Winger back (as coach) they’re going to be good,” Cornelia said of LC. “He knows how to keep his teams in games. You know he hasn’t forgotten how to coach. But I think Post Falls is scarier than heck. They’re going to be difficult to guard. They have all sorts of kids who can shoot the 3-pointer.”

Vikings are sizzling

The Coeur d’Alene girls basketball team (4-0) has handled Post Falls and Lewiston, and those two teams have beaten Lake City.

So I think we can conclude that the Vikings will have a cakewalk on their way to a second straight state championship.

The Vikings are that much better this year. They’re faster and they’re better shooters.

Perhaps most important, they’re better defenders.

Defense, as we know, wins championships.

When the Vikings get 6-foot-3 junior post Kelsey Bybee back – she’s been out with a stress fracture in her foot – they’re just going to be that much deeper and better. She’s expected back in mid-December.

CdA’s defensive pressure and quickness caused Lewiston to commit 29 turnovers as the Vikings handled the Bengals 70-53 Tuesday night.

“I can’t imagine anyone in our league beating them,” Lewiston coach Pat Teichmer told the Lewiston Tribune.

You can contact Greg Lee at 208-765-7127 or by e-mail at gregl@spokesman.com .