THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Thursday, January 29, 2015
Just a little over halfway through the 5A Inland Empire League boys basketball, Post Falls High already leads by two games in the loss column.
But it's not like the results suggest the Trojans are running away with the league.
Two of the three victories by Post Falls (16-1, 3-0 5A IEL) have come by a total of seven points - a 59-58 win at Coeur d'Alene, and a 46-40 triumph at home over Lake City.
Coeur d'Alene (11-5, 2-2) and Lake City (8-7, 2-2) are tied for second, and have already split their two league games - Coeur d'Alene winning by one point at home in overtime, and Lake City answering with a two-point OT win eight days later at home in the Fight for the Fish game.
That means the four league games so far between the three Kootenai County teams have been decided by a total of 10 points.
SHOULD WE have expected anything different?
"This league is this league," Post Falls coach Mike McLean said the other night, after the Trojans rallied from seven points down at halftime to beat Lake City. "It's like this year in and year out. Sometimes you're more talented, sometimes you're less talented."
So far, all of the games have been close except for the ones vs. last-place Lewiston (7-10, 0-3). The Bengals have lost by 24 points to Lake City, by 15 points to Coeur d'Alene and by 32 to Post Falls.
League play resumes next Tuesday, with Coeur d'Alene at Lewiston, and Post Falls at Lake City. A week from Saturday, it's Coeur d'Alene at Post Falls at Lake City at Lewiston. League play concludes Feb. 13 with Lewiston at Post Falls.
Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene were expected to battle for the league title. But Lake City, which lost all of its starters and most of its bench from last year's third-place team at state - and lost its point guard for the season over the holiday break - has made things difficult for those two, and is in the mix as well, with 1 1/2 berths to state up for grabs.
"You look at the experience and the wisdom they have on that bench (at Lake City) - this doesn't surprise me that Lake City is going to be a thorn in everyone's side," McLean said.
Part of that thorn comes from Lake City's size advantage.
"We're making steps forward, no doubt about it - but you've got to win the game when you have a chance to win the game," Lake City coach Jim Winger said after the T-Wolves let that halftime lead slip away last week at Post Falls.
* Midway through the 4A boys IEL season, Sandpoint (6-9, 2-0 4A IEL) - coached by former Coeur d'Alene coach Kent Leiss - is the surprising leader, in part due to a victory at Lakeland (10-5, 1-1) last week. Moscow (1-9, 0-2) is in third.
Lakeland visits Moscow next Tuesday and travels to Sandpoint on Feb. 13.
Whereas seeding in the 5A IEL is important because the higher seeds host games in the Region 1 tournament, it's a little different in the 4A IEL, with the Region 1 tourney games at North Idaho College. The top seed earns a first-round bye, and plays with winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 2 seed in the title game for a berth to state.
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@CdAPressSports.