Prep basketball: Colburn lifts Wildcats in OT
* BOYS BASKETBALL
ST. MARIES - Kellogg senior point guard Gus Colburn hit a driving layup with 10 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Wildcats, the top-ranked team in this week's state 3A boys basketball media poll, past the St. Maries Lumberjacks 64-62 in a nonleague game on Friday.
"Both teams played a great game," St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. "It came right down to the wire. Both teams wanted it pretty bad."
St. Maries, ranked third in this week's state 2A media poll, had a shot to win it at the buzzer, but had it fall off the rim.
"We made a couple of turnovers in overtime, and they just executed a little better than us," Chase said.
Tucker Gust scored 16 points for Kellogg (14-3), which travels to Bonners Ferry on Tuesday. With a win, Kellogg can clinch the Intermountain League title and top seed to the 3A District 1 tournament starting Feb. 23 at North Idaho College.
Matt Smith had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and A.J. Becktel had 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks for St. Maries (11-3), which travels to Grangeville today at 2:30.
Kellogg 11 12 19 14 8 - 64
St. Maries 12 18 13 13 6 - 62
KELLOGG - G. Colburn 12, Martin 6, Jerome 3, Waechter 7, Gust 16, Easley 4, T. Colburn 10, McDonald 6.
ST. MARIES - Rose 2, Lounsbury 5, Gibson 3, Sieler 2, Truscott 0, Greer 16, Wilson 2, Asbury 7, Burnett 0, Smith 11, Becktel 14, Gladden 0.
Timberlake 51
Bonners Ferry 46
SPIRIT LAKE - Vance Kistler went 3 for 4 from 3-point line, including two in the beginning of the fourth quarter, to spark the Tigers to an Intermountain League victory over the Badgers.
The win allowed Timberlake (4-13, 2-2 IML) to tie the Badgers (6-8, 2-2) for second place in the IML. Brayden Menti and Kistler each scored nine points.
"We went in a slump in the third quarter," Timberlake coach Tony Hanna said. "We had four 3s to start the fourth quarter, so that kind of got us goig. I thought our defense was pretty good. If we can keep a team to less than 50 points, we have a chance. We're not a high-scoring team, so we've got to play good defense."
On Tuesday, Timberlake travels to Priest River and Kellogg is at Bonners Ferry.
Bonners Ferry 12 8 13 13 - 46
Timberlake 14 10 6 21 - 51
BONNERS FERRY - Price 2, O'Hara 8, Stockton 7, Stone 5, Carle 2, Nelson 10, Blackmore 12, Pluid 0, Bateman 0.
TIMBERLAKE - Somershoe 9, Smith 10, Holser 2, Hausladen 4, Kirby 0, Baier 5, Hauck 1, Jones 2, Menti 9, Zhang 0, Kistler 9, Hardy 0, Nowlan 0.
Lakeland 49
Priest River 20
PRIEST RIVER - Jake Ram and Tyrel Derrick each scored 11 points for Lakeland, which held host Priest River to two first half points on the way to a nonleague win at Spartan Arena.
"Obviously we had a couple better players out there on the court tonight but overall our focus was working on our defense and I thought we did a good job," Lakeland coach Dave Stockwell said. "Priest River is a young team and I thought they worked hard out there tonight."
Ram, a senior, went 3 for 5 from 3-point range for Lakeland(13-5), which hosts Timberlake on Thursday and closes out the Inland Empire League with a must-win game at Sandpoint on Friday.
Mason Clark led the way with nine points for the Spartans (4-13), who host Timberlake on Tuesday.
Lakeland 14 10 21 4 - 49
Priest River 0 2 7 11 - 20
LAKELAND - Ram 11, Cooper 0, Derrick 11, Roth 5, Henry 2, Plunkett 4, Davis 2, O'Neal 6, Ray 6, Knight 2.
PRIEST RIVER - Clark 9, Slinger 4, Anselmo 0, Storro 0, Holman 2, Luckey 2, Simpkins 0, Mathews 3.
Wallace 55
Kootenai 28
WALLACE - Justin Bayer scored 17 points to lead the Miners past the Warriors in a North Star League game at Kirby Krulitz Court.
Dylan Browning scored 16 points for Wallace (10-8, 4-2 NSL), which hosts Lakeside on Tuesday.
Colson Schultz scored nine points for Kootenai (8-8, 4-2), which hosts Clark Fork today.
Kootenai 8 11 3 6 - 28
Wallace 12 12 21 10 - 55
KOOTENAI - J. Whipple 2, Willms 6, A. Keogh 4, H. Whipple 3, David 2, J. Keogh 2, Schultz 9.
WALLACE - Waters 3, Bayer 17, Little 0, Gust 0, Brantley 11, Martinez 0, Dancer 0, Smith 0, Browning 16, Walcker 0.
Christian Center 62
The Oaks 57
SPOKANE VALLEY - Jens Kuetemeyer had 22 points and six steals for the Lions in a win over The Oaks in a semifinal game in the Mountain Christian League tournament at Valley Fourth Church.
Brady Hite had 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Christian Center (18-3), which faces Genesis Prep in the championship game tonight at 7 at Valley Fourth Church.
The Oaks 14 11 20 12 - 57
Christian Center 21 11 19 11 - 62
THE OAKS - N. Kim 11, P. Gray 4, Fisher 6, N. Gray 0, Potter 32, C. Kim 0.
CHRISTIAN CENTER - Kuetemeyer 26, Ryssel 2, Hite 15, D. Hansen 9, Howard 6, Allen 4.
Genesis Prep 42
N.I. Christian 35
SPOKANE VALLEY - Caleb Symons had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Jaguars in a win over the Royals in the semifinals of the Mountain Christian League tournament at Valley Fourth Church.
Elijah Schreibeis had eight points and three assists for Genesis Prep (18-2), which faces Christian Center in tonight's championship game at 7 at Valley Fourth Church.
John Connelly scored 11 points for North Idaho Christian (11-9), which faces The Oaks in the third-place game today at 3 at Valley Fourth Church.
N.I. Christian 4 7 9 15 - 35
Genesis Prep 6 15 7 14 - 42
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Jesensky 3, Lehosit 0, Gabrielsen 4, Connelly 11, Rosenthal 3, Cottier 0, White 9, Covey 0, Beck 5.
GENESIS PREP - Brearley 4, Hearon 3, Miles 0, A. Reidt 2, M. Reidt 0, Schreibeis 8, Schroeder 3, Shelton 0, Symons 22.
* GIRLS BASKETBALL
Christian Center 53
The Oaks 30
SPOKANE VALLEY - Senior Esther Barnhart finished with 15 points, five assists and eight steals, helping the Lions beat The Oaks in a semifinal game of the Mountain Christian League tournament at Valley Fourth Church.
Shannon Kempton had eight points and 13 rebounds and Jaicie Purvis had eight points and six rebounds for Christian Center (14-1), which faces Genesis Prep in the championship game tonight at 5.
The Oaks 4 8 11 7 - 30
Christian Center 4 16 20 13 - 53
THE OAKS - Severn 0, Kim 10, Maddeman 4, Love 5, P. Dierdorff 2, Palpant 7, H. Dierdorff 2.
CHRISTIAN CENTER - Sovereign 3, Purvis 8, Kempton 8, Soumas 12, Barnhart 15, Engels 6, Ryssel 0, Wood 0, May 1.
Genesis Prep 36
N.I. Christian 22
SPOKANE VALLEY - Rebecca Cashen scored 10 points, hauled in nine rebounds and had three steals, as the Jaguars used a 16-2 run to beat the Royals in the semifinals of the Mountain Christian League tournament at Valley Fourth Church.
Ashley Hensley grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals for Genesis Prep (15-8).
Alexis Ralls scored nine points for North Idaho Christian (12-11), which will play for third place today.
Genesis Prep plays in the championship game against Christian Center tonight at 5 at Valley Fourth Church.
N. I. Christian 2 2 7 11 - 22
Genesis Prep 16 8 3 9 - 36
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Hensley 2, Prosch 5, Wood 0, Burke 0, Andrews 2, L. Haag 2, Lassan 0, Ralls 9, Palmer 2, Whiteman 0, Brennan 0, Gwin 0, J. Haag 0.
GENESIS PREP - Hensley 6, Arnone 7, R. Cashen 10, K. Johnson 3, Schrebeis 9, H. Johnson 1, Schindler 0, Lee 0, M. Cashen 0.
Being No. 1 and the pressure that comes with it was all new to the Bulldogs two years ago.
This year's team knew the expectations were coming and embraced them, in part because four of the players had been through it before: Pangos, Gary Bell Jr., Kyle Dranginis and Przemek Karnowski all played on the 2012-13 team.
"It was a bit surreal," Pangos said, referring to the end of that season. "We expected it going into this year."
And they have a shot to get to the top spot again.
Gonzaga is the bully of the West Coast Conference, a lightly regarded league of private schools that the Bulldogs are once again dominating. Critics often point to a soft league schedule as an advantage for Gonzaga, one that teams from power conferences do not have. Gonzaga is listed eighth in the latest RPI.
Virginia, which had been No. 2, lost to No. 4 Duke last week to clear the way for Gonzaga to move up from No. 3 this week.
Top-ranked Kentucky is more likely to lose in coming weeks than are the Bulldogs, who went undefeated and largely unchallenged through the first half of the WCC slate. Gonzaga has eight regular-season games left, all against teams it has already beaten in what is turning out to be a down season for the league.
Gonzaga's only loss was in overtime at then-No. 3 Arizona on Dec. 6. Since then they've won 16 straight. Their closest league win was 78-76 at Pepperdine.
Coach Mark Few said his team has a great ability to focus on the present.
"We haven't really let our guard down," Few said. "We've gotten sloppy at the end of some games. Pepperdine, it was just missing free throws and a pretty poor defensive effort in the second half. But we have four more games on the road against inspired teams in front of sell-out crowds. So that's to be continued."
Gonzaga's top offensive weapon this year has been Kyle Wiltjer, a transfer from Kentucky who leads the team with an average of 15 points per game. The 6-foot-10 Wiltjer is effective inside but is also shooting 44 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.
Pangos, a Wooden Award candidate, averages 12 points and is shooting 46 percent from 3-point range. He's also dished out 115 assists against only 30 turnovers.
Karnowski, a 7-1 center from Poland, is averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Byron Wesley was last year's leading scorer and rebounder for Southern California, but transferred as a graduate student to Gonzaga for his final season so he could make the NCAA tournament. He's averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Freshman Domantas Sabonis, son of Arvydas, is the fifth player averaging double figures at 10 points per game. He leads the team with seven rebounds per game despite coming off the bench.
Overall, Gonzaga averages 80.9 points per game while allowing opponents just 60.2.
The 2012-13 team finished 32-3 after losing in the NCAA tournament to Wichita State. Olynyk became a lottery pick and Harris played briefly with the Los Angeles Lakers and now plays in Germany.
A big difference this year is the emergence of Wiltjer, Few said.
"He just adds a different dimension with that skill package he brings," Few said. "The way we're moving the ball is vastly different than (2013), although that team was extremely efficient on offense, too."