Close, but Cd'A's night
Viking boys hold off city rival Timberwolves; Lake City girls defeat Coeur d’Alene again
COEUR d’ALENE — So much for the Coeur d’Alene boys being 8-1 and Lake City 2-8 overall heading into the 5A Inland Empire League opener for both schools on Tuesday night at Lake City High.
You can just throw those records out now.
And for at least the first 30 minutes of the game, it appeared that the night was going to belong to the host Timberwolves.
Then, just as quickly, the game turned — on turnovers — and the Vikings escaped with a 57-54 win, the seventh straight overall for Coeur d’Alene.
“It’s nothing new,” Coeur d’Alene coach Kurt Lundblad said. “Most of our games against Lake City have been the same way. Just a heck of a basketball game. I thought Lake City played extremely well, executed and shot the ball really well. They just had a great gameplan and we knew with (Lake City coach) Jim (Winger) and (assistant coach) John (Astorquia) they were going to play hard. I thought we came out and played flat, and were a little tired with some dead legs, but no excuses. I’m proud of the kids’ effort, but we’ve got to get back to playing our style of basketball.”
Earlier, the Lake City girls beat Coeur d’Alene 63-37 in the Timberwolves’ IEL opener.
BOYS: It was the third straight game for Coeur d’Alene that came down to the final moments. The Vikings improved to 4-0 in games decided by less than three points, including last weekend’s two buzzer-beating wins in the WinCo tournament in Caldwell.
Coeur d’Alene took the lead for good at 53-52 on two free throws by Joey Naccarato with 1:55 remaining, with Naccarato scoring again with 1:13 left to give Coeur d’Alene a 55-52 lead. Collin Hunter closed the gap on a layup with 29.7 seconds left, but Coeur d’Alene’s Jakob Lynn sealed it at the foul line with 22 seconds remaining.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team for how they battled,” Lundblad said. “They’ve found a way in three or four games. But we’ve got to clean some things up on our end. Some of these kids are new to league play, and they’ve got to know this is how this league rolls. There are no nights off in this league, and Lake City come out and showed that tonight. Kudos to Lake City, they played a good game.”
James Carlson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Lake City (2-9), which has lost seven straight. Naccarato finished with 16 points and six rebounds for Coeur d’Alene.
“Thought we executed and did what we wanted to do,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “Basically the entire game until the last two minutes, we busted our butts. We played four quarters, we just didn’t finish. We threw the ball away a couple times and didn’t execute, and in league play, it’s going to cost you.”
Lake City had a chance to tie it in the final moments, but a 3-pointer came up short.
“We just didn’t finish,” Winger said. “98 percent was an ‘A’, but we just didn’t finish.”
Carlson also had five blocked shots for Lake City, which travels to Moscow on Friday.
“He battled the entire night underneath the basket, and I can’t say enough good things about him,” Winger said. “We had the game right there, and we had some missed free throws and a missed assignment on defense on a late layin, and we’re right there. From the start of the year until now, and the schedule we’ve played, the score doesn’t surprise me. We’ve just got to continue to play as a team on offense and defense.”
Brody Lundblad had 15 points and six rebounds for Coeur d’Alene (9-1), which visits Moses Lake on Thursday.
Coeur d’Alene 12 13 15 17 — 57
Lake City 9 21 22 11 — 54
COEUR d’ALENE — Lee 4, Lundblad 15, Lynn 5, Matheson 6, Bronson 2, McElver 5, Naccarato 16, Kofmehl 0.
LAKE CITY — Louie-McGee 13, Kolden 4, Womelduff 0, Butler 0, Hartz 1, Hunter 10, Carlson 17, Flolo 3, Manzardo 6.
GIRLS: Lake City 63, Coeur d’Alene 37: Sophomore Keara Simpson had 14 points and 16 rebounds and junior Lauren Rewers added 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks as the Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Vikings for the second time in the last seven days.
“Our size got them in some foul trouble late,” Lake City coach Bryan Kelly said. “Big first league game and the girls were a little amped up and played a little uncharacteristically. We settled down and played some good basketball. Keara did an amazing job on the boards, Lauren had a great game. Thought our posts played pretty well, but we’ve got to recognize some things and get the ball where it needs to be.”
Lake City beat Coeur d’Alene 58-41 in the Coeur d’Alene Winter Classic third-place game last Wednesday at Coeur d’Alene High.
Isabella Hollibaugh scored 12 points for Coeur d’Alene (5-7, 1-1), which hosts Bonners Ferry on Saturday.
“Any kids with any size was in foul trouble, and you just can’t compete when they’re gone,” Coeur d’Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. “Even with them, we’re small, but it created some problems and the fourth quarter, the wheels just came off. The first half was the best half of basketball we’ve played the entire year. The third quarter wasn’t that bad, and were down four and got it back to eight and it just all fell apart at once. They’re really good and talented.”
Bridget Rieken had nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Lake City (12-2, 1-0), which plays at Post Falls on Thursday.
Lake City travels to Post Falls on Thursday.
“It’s a big game on Thursday night,” Kelly said. “Looking back, that second half is how we’re going to need to play to be successful. We played unselfish basketball and get the ball where it needs to be.”
Coeur d’Alene (5-6) hosts Bonners Ferry on Saturday.
Coeur d’Alene 13 11 8 5 — 37
Lake City 12 16 14 21 — 63
COEUR d’ALENE — Miller 0, Morton 0, Horvath 4, Kane 0, Callahan 9, Fagan 5, Bojorquez 0, Rollins 0, Louden 4, Hollibaugh 12, Horning 2.
LAKE CITY — Dvorak 4, Carlson 6, Rieken 9, Vershum 0, Teets 0, Rewers 10, O. Maryon 2, K. Maryon 0, Meier 16, Simpson 14.