State boys hoops berths up for grabs this week

A berth to state will be decided Tuesday, when No. 2 seed Coeur d’Alene (18-4) travels to No. 1 Lewiston (13-8) in the championship game of the 5A Region 1 boys basketball tournament.

Tipoff at Booth Hall is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The winner advances to the state tournament March 3-5 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

In a loser-out game Tuesday, No. 3 seed Post Falls (14-8) plays host to No. 4 Lake City (6-16) at 7. The two remaining teams meet Thursday for a berth in a state play-in game Saturday in Grangeville.

Lewiston earned the No. 1 seed through a point-differential tiebreaker, after the Bengals, Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls tied for the 5A Inland Empire League title with 4-2 records.

BUT FIRST, the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A Division II state-qualifying tournaments begin today.

No. 2 seed Sandpoint (6-14) and No. 3 Moscow (2-17) meet tonight at 8 at North Idaho College in the first round of the 4A Region 1 boys tournament. The winner plays No. 1 Lakeland (9-12) on Wednesday at 8 at NIC in the title game for a berth to state. The second-place team goes to Grangeville on Saturday for a state play-in game.

The 3A District 1 boys tourney begins today at NIC. No. 2 seed Bonners Ferry (8-11) faces No. 3 seed Priest River (8-12) at 4:30, followed by No. 1 Kellogg (16-4) vs. No. 4 Timberlake (6-14) at 6:15. Winners advance to the championship game Wednesday at 6:15 at NIC for a berth to state. The district runner-up can also make it to state through the play-in route.

The 2A District 1-2 boys tournament begins tonight at Troy High, with No. 2 Grangeville (13-6) vs. No. 3 Orofino (10-10) at 6, followed by No. 1 St. Maries (17-3) vs. No. 4 Coeur d’Alene Charter (3-16) at 7:30. The tourney continues Tuesday, with the championship game on Friday and the if-necessary game on Saturday. Only the district champion advances to state next week.

The 1A Division II District 1 boys tournament begins tonight, with No. 5 seed Mullan (1-12) at No. 4 Clark Fork (3-18) at 6 p.m.

The tourney resumes Tuesday at Timberlake High in Spirit Lake, with top-seeded Genesis Prep (15-4) facing the Mullan-Clark Fork winner at 6 p.m., followed by No. 2 Kootenai (11-9) vs. No. 3 Lakeside (5-16) at 7:30. The championship game is Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Timberlake; only the district champ advances to state.

The state 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A wrestling tournaments are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

ON THE North Idaho College front, the Region 18 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments unfold this weekend at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.

NIC’s women (20-8) are the No. 4 seed, and will open Thursday vs. No. 5 Utah State-Eastern (9-19).

NIC’s men (30-0) are the No. 1 seed, and will open Friday in the semifinals vs. the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 4 Snow (14-16) and No. 5 Utah State-Eastern (18-12).

The championship games in both tourneys are Saturday. The women’s champion earns an automatic berth to nationals; the men’s champion advances to a play-in game the following week, with that winner advancing to nationals. At-large berths to nationals for both men and women are also available.

And NIC will send two wrestlers to the NJCAA tournament Friday and Saturday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.