Top-ranked Capital wears out Lake City in 5A

NAMPA, Idaho – For three quarters, the Lake City boys basketball team hung right with undefeated, top-ranked Capital in the Idaho 5A State semifinals.

But in the end, Capital’s depth, speed and relentless defensive pressure were too much for LC to overcome. The Eagles opened the fourth quarter on a decisive 11-1 run, keying a 66-58 victory Friday at the Ford Idaho Center.

Capital (25-0) advances to play Borah (18-7) in tonight’s championship game. Lake City (18-6) takes on Rocky Mountain (18-7) in the third-place game at Columbia High in Nampa.

“I thought we played our tails off,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “Capital is just so athletic. They’re a good basketball team, but they are fantastic athletes. … That’s why they are undefeated.”

Senior guard Jake Vetsch led a determined Lake City effort with 24 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. He made 7 of 11 field goals, all eight free-throw attempts and poured in 11 of Lake City’s 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Timberwolves afloat.

The score remained tight through three quarters, but Capital used an 11-1 run to open the fourth – punctuated by a Hunter Young 3 and Derrick White’s layup – to make it 53-38 with 4 minutes left.

“You have to darn near play perfect to beat them,” Winger said. “What really hurt us was Kyle (Guice) being in foul trouble. We basically played the whole game without him.”

Guice, a 6-foot-6 post, fouled out in just 14 minutes. He finished with three points and one rebound, missing all five of his field-goal attempts.

JJ Winger scored 12 points for Lake City on 4-of-5 shooting – all from 3-point territory.

Guards Keegan Hansen (18 points) and White (17 points) led the way for the Eagles, who played 11 players with 10 scoring.

Highland 48, Post Falls 45: Senior guard Nick Hall scored 13 points and fellow senior Matt Hillman added 11 as the Trojans lost a 48-45 decision to the Rams and were eliminated from the 5A tournament. Senior post Corey Koski had seven points and nine rebounds for Post Falls (15-10). Junior guard Stefan Gonzalez poured in 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Highland (20-5), which advances to today’s consolation final versus Skyline. Connor Harding added 16 points for the Rams.

4A

Bishop Kelly 70, Moscow 57: Jack Akey scored 37 points as the Bears fell to the Knights and were eliminated from the 4A tournament. Moscow couldn’t slow down Bishop Kelly’s one-two punch of Luke Meyers and Ryan Matunas. Meyers scored 28 points, while Matunas added 22 and 10 rebounds.

3A

Buhl 49, Kellogg 33: Jesse Lambert scored 10 points to lead the Wildcats, who fell to the Indians (20-1) at Meridan in a semifinal. Tucker Gust added nine points and six rebounds for Kellogg. Hayden Eckert scored 15 for Buhl. Kellogg (14-8) plays Filer today in the third-place game.