Post Falls returns to 5A State

With the score tied in the fourth quarter and a state berth on the line, it was left to a sophomore to make the night’s biggest plays.

Post Falls guard Marcus Colbert hit back-to-back 3-pointers a little more than a minute apart to break the 32-32 deadlock and propel the Trojans (19-4) to a 53-36 triumph over visiting Coeur d’Alene and a return berth from Region I to the Idaho 5A tournament Thursday through next Saturday at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

They play District III champion Eagle (22-1) in their state opener. Eagle beat Vallivue 71-66. The loss ends the season for the Vikings (15-8).

“Personally, it was hard for me to see their season end,” said Post Falls coach Mike McLean, a former Vikings assistant who is close to players on the team. “I know how hard they work and am proud of them.”

Coeur d’Alene, executing patiently out of its flex motion, took it to Post Falls from the outset and bolted to a 9-2 lead. It was a lead maintained until the game turned late in the first half when Connor White drove for a score that was waved off on a charge call.

And who stepped up? Colbert. His first basket of the night was a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left that cut the deficit to a basket at intermission.

“People forget he’s just a sophomore,” McLean said. “Against his peers he could get to the rim when he wanted. He’s put in extra time shooting and now has added a new element.”

White helped keep the Vikings in front for most of three quarters before Post Falls tied it on Matt Lickfold’s basket inside on a nice pass from Connor Hill.

Then Colbert banged home his 3s from the top of the key at 5:35 and 4:22 of the final period to make it 38-32 and ignite a 21-4 finish for Post Falls.

“They left me open at those times and I let it go,” Colbert said. “They just fell in for me.”

McLean credited an unheralded element of Post Falls’ game – defense – with making the difference.

The idea, he said, was to use his 10-deep lineup and full-court pressure and wear down Vikings ball handler White, who would score 10 points.

“I didn’t know when the breaking point would come, but midway through the fourth quarter I saw it happen,” McLean said.

Until then, the Vikings slowed down the tempo as have most teams during Post Falls’ 23 games. They did it more effectively than the others, giving them a chance to win, McLean said.

Sophomore Colbert, who led three Trojans in double figures with 14 points, had other ideas.