LC boys, girls split with rival

The Lake City boys pulled out a 68-63 win in overtime over crosstown rival Coeur d’Alene, while the top-ranked Viking girls held off the Timberwolves 52-40 Friday in Inland Empire League games at Elmer Jordan Court. Click the tab below to read my unedited game story.

By Greg Lee

Staff writer

It was either a classic comeback or a
classic collapse.

That’s probably how half the crowd
– representing a city split between two
high schools – will remember the In
land Empire League boys basketball
opener Friday at Coeur d’Alene High’s
Elmer Jordan Court.

The young senior-less Vikings
watched a 15-point lead in the early
moments of the second half evaporate. Lake City rallied
to force overtime where the Timberwolves pulled out a
68-63 decision before a crowd estimated at 1,400.

In the opener between the girls teams, No. 1-ranked
and defending state champ
Coeur d’Alene used defense in
the fourth quarter to hold off
upstart Lake City 52-40.

Boys

Junior point guard Connor
White made a wide-open 3-
pointer 36 seconds into the
third quarter that extended
CdA’s lead to 47-32.

The Vikings (3-6) proceed ed to commit eight turnovers
and didn’t score again in the
quarter. LC, using a half-court
trap and switching man, in
ched back into the game. A
pullup 8-foot jumper by senior
guard Jason Wheelock pulled
LC (6-2) within 47-44 with 3
seconds left in the period.

Senior post Nate Frisbie
converted a baseline drive to
give LC its first lead since the
early moments of the first
quarter at 51-50 with 5:36 re
maining in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Chris Wheelock
extended LC’s lead to 53-50
with 3:28 to go, but CdA fought
back to tie it at 53-all.

Junior guard Devon Austin
gave CdA the lead with two
free throws at the 1:25 mark,
and Jason Wheelock tied it at
55-55 when he hit a free-throw
line jumper nine seconds later.

Each team got a steal in the
final 57 seconds but couldn’t
convert, sending the game to
overtime.

The 4-minute extra session
was back and forth until LC
sophomore wing Mark Smyly
hit a 3-pointer for a 61-59 lead
with 1:29 remaining. It’s a lead
the T-Wolves wouldn’t relin quish.

LC made 5 of 6 foul shots in
the final 32 seconds to secure a
win in a game that could be
similar to most games among
the IEL’s four 5A teams this
season.

Smyly and Nate Frisbie fin
ished with 14 points each and
Frisbie had a team-high 10 re
bounds.

“Defense really was the key
for us,” LC coach Jim Winger
said. “Down 15 points against
your rival in a hostile environ ment and to come back and
pull it out … I’m real proud of
them. As I told them after the
game, we’ll never take any thing away from this type of
victory, but if we want to do
the things we want to do and
go where we want to go, we
can’t check out the first two
quarters and then try to rally
all the time.”

CdA was a team afire offens -
ively in the first half. The Viks
made 10 of 13 shots – including
5 of 6 from 3-point range – in
the first quarter as they
opened a 25-16 lead.

The advantage grew to 37-
24 in the second quarter be
fore LC used a 9-0 run to pull
within 37-32 with 1:38 left be
fore halftime. A 3-pointer and
two free throws from White
gave CdA a 42-32 lead at inter mission.

The turnovers especially
disappointed CdA coach Kent
Leiss.

“I think what we showed to
night is even though we’re
young we’ve got some talent,”
Leiss said. “But we’re imma ture at times.”

Austin led CdA with 21 points.

Girls

Somebody must have for
gotten to tell the T-Wolves
that the Viks are ranked 34th
in the nation and were coming
off an impressive showing in
Wilmington , Del.

LC (8-4, 2-3) didn’t back
down from the get go, and CdA
(13-0, 5-0) had to earn the win
in a game much closer than the
final margin.

Senior post Katie Baker
made two free throws to pull
LC within 37-36 with 6:28 to
go, but back-to-back steals by
Dayna Drager and Kama Grif
fitts allowed the Viks to pull away late.

Sophomore post Carli Ro senthal led CdA with 20 points
and nine rebounds. Baker, who
struggled from the field (4 of 16
shots), had 14 as did sopho more guard Sydney Butler.

CdA coach Dale Poffenroth
complimented LC.

“I thought their kids came to
play,” Poffenroth said.