THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Thursday, February 25, 2016

For Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach Kurt Lundblad, the final 2.1 seconds of last Friday’s 5A Region 1 tournament opener at Coeur d’Alene’s Elmer Jordan Court seemed to last an eternity.

There was the inbounds pass from the baseline to midcourt, where Jake Pfennigs of Post Falls leaped to catch the ball, and passed it to Max McCullough, who was streaking past him.

Moments after Bryce Bronson’s jumper broke a 74-all tie to give Coeur d’Alene the lead, McCullough had a real good look at a 3-pointer from the top of the circle that would have stolen the game from the Vikings, who led by 20 in the third quarter.

But alas, the storybook finish remained written for Bronson, as McCullough’s jumper bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

“This is only my third year (as Viking coach), and I can’t tell you how many times Max has beat us,” Lundblad said. “Both times last year in league, he hit 3-pointers at the end, he made free throws at the end ... that’s the first time Max hasn’t made that shot. He proved tonight why he’s arguably one of the best players in the league, if not the best player in the league. He’s just a great high school player. He’s still shooting about 90 percent against us in game winners, so he was due to miss one.”

Six nights later, after Coeur d’Alene lost at Lewiston for the regional title, and Post Falls beat Lake City in a loser-out game, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene meet again tonight at 7 on the same Elmer Jordan Court, with bigger stakes on the line — the winner advances to a state play-in game Saturday at Grangeville, the loser is done for the season.

Post Falls held off Coeur d’Alene by one point at home earlier in the season. In the two games at Coeur d’Alene, the Vikings led by at least 20 points before weathering Trojan comebacks. The first time, Post Falls trimmed a 21-point deficit to four before falling. Last Friday, the Trojans came all the way back from 20 points down to tie it before losing.

“You’re not going to blow Post Falls out; they’re just too good,” Lundblad said. “And even though we played really well early, we knew they’d make a run, because they’re used to winning.”

• With Jayson Ulrich in his second season as coach at Lewiston, three of the four head boys basketball coaches in the 5A Inland Empire League are guiding their alma maters. Ulrich and Mike McLean (Post Falls) played against each other in high school, both graduating in 1995. Kurt Lundblad (Coeur d’Alene) and Jim Winger (Lake City) played together at Coeur d’Alene High in the early 1980s. Winger, of course, was head coach at Coeur d’Alene for two seasons before moving across U.S. 95 to start the program at Lake City in 1994.

• Lewiston High celebrated the winning of its first 5A Region 1 boys basketball championship the other night by cutting down not one, but both, nets. Coeur d’Alene put up the good fight, but lost by 12 in a game a little closer than the final score indicated. Earlier this season, the Vikings fell by 24 at Booth Hall, in a game that got away from the Vikings due to a combination of technical fouls and Lewiston’s size.

“It was hard to win at Booth Hall all the way back in the ’80s when I played here,” Lundblad said. “They’ve got a good crowd, and they’ve got a good basketball team. It’s just always tough to win down here, just like I think it’s tough for them to win up at our place.”

Funny how that goes — when a team is tough on its home court, it’s usually because it’s a good team. I remember Lewiston having some strong teams in the 80s when Lundblad (and Winger) played in high school. The Bengals have been through a few lean years since winning the state title in 2009 — their last trip to state. But with a young starting lineup — three juniors, a sophomore and only one senior — Lewiston figures to be good for another year at least.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.