THE FRONT ROW with Mark Nelke Jan. 23, 2014

Lake City High, based on returning players from last year's team that won league and regional titles, was the consensus pick to win the 5A IEL in boys basketball this season.

Coeur d'Alene, with a new coach but also a lot of returning players, was expected to challenge.

AT THE halfway point of league play - at least for those two teams - Coeur d'Alene and Lake City are tied for first place at 2-1. Post Falls and Lewiston are each 0-1.

Coeur d'Alene has both league games left with Lewiston, as well as a home game vs. Post Falls on Feb. 8. A win last week over Lake City in the Fight for the Fish game last Friday at Coeur d'Alene would put the Vikings in good shape to win the league, and play at home throughout the 5A Region 1 tournament. But Lake City avenged a loss at home to Coeur d'Alene a week earlier by winning amidst the spirited bedlam at Cd'A.

"I don't think a lot of people ... picked us to be 2-0 after the first two games," Coeur d'Alene coach Kurt Lundblad said after the Fish game. "I'm happy, but I'm not satisfied.

"That's why I thought it was so critical to sneak one out tonight. There are so few league games. If we could have found a way to get a W, it puts us in the driver's seat for the final three games."

Lake City is normally tough to beat at home - even having some unbeaten home seasons. But this year, all four of Lake City's losses have come at home. The Timberwolves are 5-0 on the road, 2-0 at neutral sites, and 2-4 at home.

"In a four-month season, there's a lot of peaks and valleys, and it's how you respond to those valleys," Lake City coach Jim Winger said after beating Coeur d'Alene the other night.

Lake City is home vs. Post Falls on Friday night, at Post Falls on Feb. 4, and home vs. Lewiston on Feb. 8.

Post Falls plays host to Lewiston on Jan. 25, and visits Lewiston on Feb. 14.

ALL REGIONAL tourney games will be at the site of the higher seed - there's no tourney-opening doubleheader at the No. 1 seed, as has been the case in recent years.

"I'm pretty sure we'll see them again, sometime later on in the season," Lundblad said of Lake City.

"The margin for error in this league is slim to none," Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. "And as much as it's nice to have home-court advantage, honestly, I don't know if there's much of a home-court advantage in any of these places (at Post Falls, Lake City or Coeur d'Alene) ... it's not like there are long bus rides."

CONGRATS TO Ron Miller, who had the gym at Lakeside High in Plummer named after him last Saturday during the Battle on the Trail spirit basketball games between Kootenai and Lakeside.

The court is now called Ron Miller Court.

Miller has done a little bit of everything at Lakeside High - and before that, Plummer High - since he started coaching in the district in 1986. He coached girls basketball for two stints totaling 20 seasons, resigning after the 2011-12 season, and he coached football for 20 seasons, stepping down after the 2012 season.

He was also athletic director at Lakeside for more than 20 years.

He coached Plummer to the state A-4 girls basketball title in 1990, and was on the coaching staff of Lakeside's softball state title team in 1996.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.