Four for the win
COEUR d’ALENE — Another night, another wild finish in the Coeur d’Alene High gym in 5A Inland Empire League boys basketball.
A four-point play by Post Falls junior Max McCullough with 4.5 seconds remaining lifted the Trojans, ranked No. 2 in the state in 5A, past the Coeur d’Alene Vikings 59-58 on Tuesday night before an estimated 1,200 at Elmer Jordan Court.
“We did everything you’re supposed to do when you lose on the road,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. “We just threw the ball all over, we missed I don’t know how many layups. In the second half I thought we were getting the ball right where we wanted it, on the block, and we were just missing.”
Coeur d’Alene (8-4, 1-1 5A IEL) built a 54-49 lead midway through the fourth quarter on back-to-back fast-break baskets by Colby Daniels, who led all scorers with 18 points.
Post Falls (13-1, 1-0) answered with a 3-pointer from McCullough — one of eight 3s for the Trojans. A putback by Elliott Sparks put Coeur d’Alene’s lead back to four.
Luke Anderson scored on a drive with two minutes left to pull Post Falls within 56-55. Both teams had their chances after that until Daniels was fouled and made both free throws with 14.8 seconds left to make it 58-55.
McLean called timeout with 11.3 seconds left to set up the final play.
After a couple passes around the perimeter, McCullough came off a baseline screen from Jack Millsap, took a pass from Dalton Thompson and buried the 3 from the corner, in front of the Post Falls bench. A late-arriving Viking defender fouled him on the shot, and McCullough sank the free throw.
“As cliche as it is, we ran it exactly the way I drew it up,” said McLean, who said
he got the play from a similar play run by the Golden State Warriors, who run it for former Washington State star Klay Thompson. “We wanted to have a little false action on top, so Max would kinda get lost. ... I thought they might be concerned about Dalton and Luke (Anderson) up top, and we had Max on the weak side ... and something that’s probably overlooked is that Jack Millsap set such a good screen. Sometimes hitting the shot is not as difficult as the guy that’s got to set the screen to free the guy.”
Coeur d’Alene was out of timeouts, and was unable to get a good look at the basket, losing the ball coming up the floor.
“He made a heckuva shot, no question about it,” Coeur d’Alene coach Kurt Lundblad said. “Our plan, after the second or third pass, was to foul ... and we didn’t foul. They did a good job moving the ball, keeping it out of harm’s way. ... it was just a gutty play by a great little basketball player.
Both teams were plagued by turnovers — many of them unforced — in the first half. Coeur d’Alene started the second quarter on an 8-0 run in the first 44 seconds, capped by a 3-point play by Joe Naccarato. But Post Falls answered with three straight 3s — two by Wyatt Millsap, one by Ryan English — for a 26-22 lead midway through the quarter.
“Could not be more proud of my kids, though,” Lundblad said. “I felt they played well enough to win a basketball game, but we all know in competitive sports, that’s part of the game. Tough way to lose, but could not be more proud.”
Post Falls, playing for the first time since Jan. 3, is off for nine more days, returning to action Jan. 23 at home vs. Lake City.
Coeur d’Alene travels to Lake City on Friday for the Fight for the Fish spirit game. Coeur d’Alene beat Lake City at home last Thursday in overtime in the league opener.
Post Falls 13 18 15 13 — 59
Coeur d’Alene 11 22 12 13 — 58
POST FALLS — McLean 0, W. Millsap 6, McCullough 9, Anderson 8, English 3, Pfennigs 7, Thompson 10, Hillman 1, J. Millsap 7, Blakney 8.
COEUR d’ALENE — J. Naccarato 7, Lundblad 10, Daniels 18, Matheson 0, Schuon 2, Sparks 9, T. Naccarato 13.