STATE 5A BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Lake City fights for third-place trophy

NAMPA - Senior point guard Justin Pratt dribbled out the final minute Saturday afternoon, enjoying every second of it, taking time to hug teammate and fellow senior Jacob Dahl as the final seconds ticked off.

"We just wanted to go out with a bang," said Pratt, who scored 12 of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter as Lake City handled Rocky Mountain of Meridian 66-50 in the third-place game of the state 5A boys basketball tournament at Columbia High.

Lake City (19-5) rebounded nicely after the Timberwolves played their hearts out in a narrow semifinal loss to unbeaten Capital of Boise the night before. Lake City pushed the top-ranked Eagles to the limit before falling 66-58.

"It was really sad at first, but Capital's a great team," Pratt said. "They're undefeated, but we gave them a huge run for their money. Rocky beat us really bad last year (61-33, in the first round, and also beat Lake City by 20 points at state in 2010), and we focused on that after the game."

Less than 18 hours after the Capital heartbreak, the Timberwolves were celebrating after bringing home their first trophy from state since 2002.

"I'm just pretty tickled," Lake City coach Jim Winger said. "This is the fourth one of these (third-place games Winger has coached in at Lake City). And to be so close last night, to play the undefeated, No. 1 team in the state, and just work your tail off, and left nothing out on the floor. And to get up and come out in the middle of a cornfield in Nampa, in a less-tantalizing environment ... we were loaded for bear, and just jumped out from the start. We beat a team that's pretty darn good, and beat 'em handily. We just played lights out."

With Pratt leading the way, Lake City took control early and never looked back. The Timberwolves built a 28-11 lead in the second quarter, and led by as much as 21 points at 46-25 late in the third quarter.

Chuckie Adams, one of eight seniors playing their final game for Lake City, scored eight of his 12 points in the second half. Senior Jake Vetsch, coming off a monster game vs. Capital, also chipped in 12 points on Saturday, and also had three steals. Senior JJ Winger went 3 of 6 from 3-point range, and finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Senior Kyle Guice had six points and five boards.

"We just came out really aggressive," Pratt said. "I came out looking for my shots, and they started to fall, and our team, we were in our spots, and were able to get a lot of easy shots. You can either give up and go home (after a semifinal loss), or fight for the third-place trophy, and that's what we did."

Pratt also had four assists and two steals.

"He just played great," Winger said of Pratt. "He really led us, and handled the ball great. I don't think the seniors wanted to go home empty handed, because they were nails today."

Kekoa Nawahine scored 12 points, John Sherle 11 for Rocky Mountain (18-8), which was coming off a loss to two-time defending state champion Borah of Boise in the semifinals. That loss denied Rocky another shot at Capital, after losing to the Eagles by one point in the District 3 title game last week.

In the first round Rocky Mountain manhandled Post Falls by 31 points. One of Lake City's losses was to Post Falls, by 18 points. But on Saturday, Lake City held Rocky to 15 of 45 from the field, including 5 of 24 from 3-point range.

"They were just a better team than us," Rocky Mountain coach Dane Roy said of Lake City.

Rocky Mountain 7 15 8 20 - 50

Lake City 19 9 18 20 - 66

ROCKY MOUNTAIN - Shepherd 3, Jones 0, Toffelmier 0, Skurdal 0, Nawahine 12, Boyce 3, Miller 7, Sherle 11, Erickson 6, Knight 2, Faigl 6. Totals 15-45 15-23 50.

LAKE CITY - Adams 12, Pratt 17, Louie-McGee 2, Vetsch 12, Guice 6, Turner 0, Dahl 4, Winger 11, Mitchell 2, Hancock 0. Totals 19-39 23-35 66.