Voyage comes to an end
<p>A disappointed Deon Watson hangs his head as the Vikings fall behind in the fourth quarter against Centennial High Friday in the semi-final round of the 5A boys state basketball tournament in Nampa.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene's Chad Chalich blocks Centennial High School's Patrick Manning while making a pass in the second half.</p>
<p>Megan Fantozzi cheers for the Coeur d'Alene High School boys basketball team from the stands Friday during the semi-final round of the 5A state tournament in Nampa.</p>
NAMPA — The Coeur d’Alene Vikings thought they had all the bases covered.
They kept Centennial’s point guard and the Patriots’ big man from going off for big games.
But Aaron Maffey, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, tossed in 22 points — 16 in the second half — as Centennial held back Coeur d’Alene 54-47 in the semifinals of the state 5A boys basketball tournament Friday night at the Idaho Center.
“We did a great job on everybody (else),” Coeur d’Alene coach Kent Leiss said. “Held (point guard Patrick) Manning to four and Faruk (Huskic) only had 14 — I would have taken that. Maffey, we lost him two or three times on out-of-bounds plays, we just didn’t rotate out to him enough in the corner.”
Coeur d’Alene (16-8) plays Borah (19-6) of Boise today at 10 a.m. at Columbia High in Nampa in the third place game. Mountain View (20-5) of Meridian beat Borah 65-51 in the other semifinal, and plays Centennial (20-5) in the state championship game.
Deon Watson scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Coeur d’Alene, and was equally effective inside and outside. But the Vikings fell behind by six points three minutes into the third quarter, and though they took a one-point lead early in the fourth, could never quite get over the hump against Centennial.
“We definitely put up a fight,” Watson said. “I’m proud of my teammates; we didn’t back down. Their defense was great ... (offensively) they definitely moved the ball around. They weren’t impatient; sometimes I feel like we were a little impatient.”
“That Watson kid, he’s a great player,” Centennial coach Tom Aipperspach said. “I thought we did a pretty good job, and got a hand in his face, and we just couldn’t stop him. But we did a great job with the other kids on their team that can shoot the ball.”
Manning picked up his second foul with 2:18 left in the first quarter and Coeur d’Alene leading 9-6. Manning went to the bench and did not return for the rest of the half.
The Vikings opened up a 16-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Andrew Baracco early in the second quarter. But Centennial answered with an 8-0 run. And when reserve Zack Gutches’ shot from the right wing curled around the rim, off the backboard and through the net at the buzzer, Centennial had a 24-22 halftime lead.
“The shot at the end of the half that Gutches hit was big,” Aipperspach said. “It brought us in on a very high note at halftime.”
Maffey sank a pair of 3-pointers early in the third quarter, and Manning’s steal, basket and free throw put Centennial ahead 33-27 with 5:16 left in the third.
Watson scored 10 of his 18 points in the third quarter, including a 3 and a pullup jumper in the final two minutes to bring Coeur d’Alene within 40-39 after three quarters.
Jake Matheson’s short baseline jumper early in the fourth quarter put Coeur d’Alene ahead 41-40. But Centennial went on an 8-2 run, capped by Manning’s feed to Huskic for a layup and a 48-43 lead with 4:18 left.
Leading 48-45, Centennial started working on the clock with 2 1/2 minutes left, and Coeur d’Alene had to foul several times to put the Patriots in the bonus. Centennial gave the Vikings life by missing 4 of 6 free throws, and Ty Higbie’s layup pulled Coeur d’Alene within 50-47 with 25 seconds left.
Maffey made two free throws with 21.3 seconds to go, and Centennial sealed the win when Manning rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Coeur d’Alene and threw ahead to Nick Saras for the clinching basket in the waning seconds.
“I think that’s the best defensive team we’ve played all year,” Leiss said.
Maffey was 3 of 5 from 3-point range, 8 of 14 from the field overall. He made all three of his 3s, and scored 11 of his points, in the third quarter. Manning had four points, four assists and two steals, all in the second half.
Matheson finished with nine points, and Baracco had eight rebounds. Coeur d’Alene was just 4 of 16 from 3-point range, though several misses came in the closing minutes as the Vikings had to hoist them up.
“They definitely cut off a lot of penetration,” Watson said of Centennial. “And they made me work in the post. It wasn’t easy, but my teammates handled it well. I think we took, overall, good shots, but they weren’t all good shots, and that’s what lost the game.”
Centennial 8 16 16 14 — 54
Coeur d’Alene 13 9 17 8 — 47
CENTENNIAL — Saras 8, Manning 4, Robertson 4, Sanor 0, Maffey 22, Huskic 14, Leitzinger 0, Gutches 2. Totals 21-46 9-13 54.
COEUR d’ALENE — Matheson 9, Chalich 6, Roletto 0, Loy 0, Higbie 4, Baracco 6, Watson 22. Totals 19-39 5-7 47.