The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Jan. 9, 2013

When it comes to basketball in North Idaho right now, on any given night - any team could walk out of the gym with a win.

Between games in the Inland Empire League and the Scenic West Athletic Conference, games can and will be worth the price of admission - no matter where they're held.

GAMES WITHIN the 5A IEL picked up on Tuesday with Post Falls visiting Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston coming to Lake City in both boys and girls basketball action.

We're less than a month from the start of the girls 5A Region 1 tournament, with three teams - Post Falls, Lewiston and Coeur d'Alene all being ranked in the top five of the state media poll for most of the season.

Both Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls have wins over Highland of Pocatello, which has been either second or third for most of the year. Lake City won three games in a tournament in the Kirkland area a few weeks ago.

For the second time this season, Coeur d'Alene and Lake City will face off on Friday - this time in the annual Fight for the Fish spirit games at Lake City.

Lake City and Lewiston played for the first time this season on Tuesday, with the rematch in Lewiston on Jan. 25.

This league is always a tough one to advance to state out of. And it's only going to get tougher and better as the month moves on, with teams battling for the next month, then having to get on a bus and travel to Grangeville for a play-in game against a team from the Boise area.

Then have to do it again a few days later to compete in a state tournament.

IT DOESN'T get any easier for teams in the Scenic West Athletic Conference from now until the conference tournaments at the end of next month.

Between men's and women's basketball, only one team - the Salt Lake men - have made it through the first two weeks of conference play with an unbeaten record after starting 3-0 on their home floor.

NIC’s only setbacks for both the men and women were last Thursday in Salt Lake City before beating Snow to improve to 3-1 before heading to archrival Southern Idaho this Saturday.

Area fans also have a chance to get an idea of just how difficult it will be getting out of the Region 18 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in the final weeks of February.

For the first time since 2009, the tournament will be held in Coeur d’Alene, with the top two teams advancing to the NJCAA tournament in Kansas.

The only guarantee to get to Salina (site of women’s tourney) is to win the conference tournament. Otherwise, you’re hoping for one of four automatic bids.

In the men’s, whichever team escapes Coeur d’Alene with that tournament championship will need to win again in Arizona against the Region 1 champion — and then just hope for another win to advance to Hutchinson.

Otherwise, they might be stuck sitting at home watching the tournament.

And nobody playing the game right now wants to do that.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com.