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Idaho boys state basketball: Blake Buchanan leads Lake City to finals; Colby Renner’s buzzer-beater lifts St. Maries

By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com(509) 459-5441

Blake Buchanan, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, scored 19 points with nine rebounds and Lake City came back from 10 points down in the third quarter to beat Boise 65-50 in an Idaho 5A State semifinal at Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Friday.

It the just the second trip to the state title game in school history, the first since 2002. Lake City’s last trophy came with a third-place finish in 2014.

After the Timberwolves (18-6) got down 10 points early in the third, they stormed back, taking advantage of some Boise foul trouble. Jack Kiesbuy scored six consecutive points late in the quarter and the teams were tied at 42 heading into the fourth quarter.

Kiesbuy’s left-handed runner in the lane put the Timberwolves up three with 3½ minutes to go. Buchanan followed with a dunk and Kolton Mitchell’s driving layup with 2:36 left made it a seven-point game.

With Boise scrambling, Lake City’s lead grew quickly in the late stages.

Boise (8-7) hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter and led 21-18. The Brave lead grew to 11 early the second after Whitt Miller (19 points) nailed a pair of 3s, but LC chipped away the deficit and trailed 36-29 at intermission.

Boise was the last public school in the state to play its first game, on Jan. 19, after a delayed start and then a positive COVID-19 test in the program. The Brave will play for third place on Saturday, seeking their first basketball trophy since 1997.

Lakeland 71, Twin Falls 42: Carson Seay scored 17 points, Grant Roth added 16 and the Hawks (12-9) beat the Bruins (15-14) in a 4A State consolation game at Rocky Mountain HS in Meridian. Bryce Henry added 14 points for Lakeland, which plays in the consolation final on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Fruitland 82, Priest River 59: Hyrum Lindsey scored 20 points with nine rebounds and the Grizzlies (17-7) beat the Spartans (14-9) in an Idaho 3A State consolation game at Columbia HS in Nampa. Jordan Nortz scored 14 points and Trentyn Kreager had 13 points with eight boards for Priest River.

Kimberly 56, Bonners Ferry 36: Gatlin Bair scored 15 points and the Bulldogs (13-11) beat the Badgers (12-10) in an Idaho 3A State consolation game at Columbia HS. Braeden Blackmore led Bonners Ferry with 11 points.

St. Maries 45, North Fremont 43: Colby Renner hit a catch-and-shoot, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 30 feet and the Lumberjacks (22-1) edged the Huskies (21-1) in a 2A State semifinal at Eagle HS in a rematch of the 2019 state final.

St. Maries plays in the championship game on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Despite appearing in the past seven state tourneys and taking trophies in four of the past six, the Lumberjacks are looking for their first state title since 1960.

Eli Gibson led St. Maries with 16 points. St. Maries trailed by eight entering the second half.

AJ Hill led North Fremont with 11 points.

Lakeside 67, Grace 63 (OT): Jayson Hall scored 32 points with nine rebounds, Vander Brown added 23 points with 13 boards and the Knights (16-5) beat the Grizzlies (11-14) in the Idaho 1ADI State third-place game at Vallivue HS in Caldwell. Gage Stoddard led Grace with 24 points.