Vikings take step toward state with big win

Top seed Coeur d’Alene moved a step closer to defending its 5A Region I boys basketball title Saturday night with a pretty-much-as-expected 75-50 victory over No. 4 Post Falls at Elmer Jordan Court.

Also pretty much as expected, the Vikings got huge games from the senior guard tandem of Nate Clinton, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points, and Andrew Prohaska, who finished with nine points and game highs in rebounds (10) and steals (four).

The win propels Coeur d’Alene (19-2) to the title game at home Friday against much-improved No. 3 Lewiston (14-6). Post Falls (8-13) visits No. 2 Lake City (16-5) in a loser-out contest also on Friday. The Lake City-Post Falls winner then squares off with the CdA-Lewiston loser for the region’s second state berth on Saturday at the home of the higher remaining seed.

Clinton talked briefly about the Post Falls contest and then shifted focus to the matchup with upstart Lewiston, which dismantled LC Friday while the Vikings looked on from the bleachers.

“Tonight’s game gave us some momentum and confidence heading into our game with Lewiston,” said Clinton, who hit 5 of 10 3-pointers. “They’re playing a lot better than they have been – they’re playing like they have an edge to ‘em and they’re just a lot more angry, and that’s what they needed.

“It’s going to be a tough game.”

The Vikings never looked back after senior forward Darin Palmer’s dribble-drive three-point-play capped an early 10-0 run that made it 13-3.

Vikings coach Kent Leiss said his team accomplished at least one major goal, outrebounding the Trojans 29-10 and dominating the offensive glass.

He added that it also never hurts to get the first one out of the way.

“Any time you head into the postseason, there are some butterflies and jitters because you want to get to the state tournament,” Leiss said. “One good thing about our style of play is that you don’t really have a chance to get nervous, because you’re out pressuring the ball and running the floor, and there’s not a lot of time to think about anything other than what’s in front of you at that very moment.”

Post Falls coach Mike McLean credited CdA, but assigned much of the blame for the blowout to himself and his team.

“I think it came down to effort – and our intensity level,” McLean said. “We talked about how, when you get to these regional sites, you have to get things cranked up, and we didn’t match it. … With all the cancellations and things, we’ve been playing about one game every nine days, and we’ve backed off in practice a little bit, and we will not make that mistake next week – we will come back and be more intense.”

•Mac Stannard scored 23 points and Pat LeBeau added 18 to lead Moscow to a 67-43 win over Sandpoint in a 4A Region I game at Moscow. The Bears (7-12) outscored the Bulldogs 27-13 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Spencer Swerin had 12 points and Ryan Armbruster added 11 to lead Sandpoint (6-15), which will play host Lakeland in a loser-out game Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Rathdrum. Moscow will play the winner of that game on Thursday for a state berth.

•Ty Ketchum scored 18 points and Kellogg used a fourth-quarter rally to beat St. Maries 56-53 in a 3A District I tournament game at North Idaho College. Kenny Stuart had 14 points and Seth Ketchum added 10 for the Wildcats (15-5), who outscored the Lumberjacks 18-9 in the fourth to erase a six-point deficit. Aaron Corsi tallied a game-high 21 points for St. Maries (10-12). … Also at NIC, A.J. Bennett had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead Bonners Ferry to a 65-55 win over Priest River. Ryan Winebark added 22 points and seven boards for the Badgers (13-8), who led 33-22 at halftime. Eric Holbrook had a team-high 17 points for the Spartans. Bonners Ferry will play Kellogg at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at NIC with a state berth on the line. Priest River (10-11) will play St. Maries in a loser-out game at 6 p.m.

•Mike Martin scored 24 points and Jared Broggi added 17 as Clark Fork defeated Wallace 61-45 in a North Star League game at Wallace. The Wampus Cats (15-4, 9-1) outscored the Miners 16-7 in the first quarter and led 32-16 at the half. Jordan Beehner tallied a team-high 16 points for Wallace (14-5, 9-1). … Elsewhere in the league, Seth Patzer scored 11 points and Ethan Patzer added eight points and eight rebounds to lead host Kootenai past Coeur d’Alene Charter 32-26 in Harrison. The Warriors (8-11, 3-7) outscored the Panthers 10-2 in the fourth quarter to erase a two-point third-quarter deficit. Rory Ruskovich tallied a game-high 12 points to lead Coeur d’Alene Charter (7-12, 3-7).