Trojans turn tables on Columbia River
Gavven Desjarlais of Post Falls shoots in front of Columbia River defender Evan Dirksen in a Lake City Invitational game Thursday afternoon at Lake City High. LOREN BENOIT/Press
Coeur d’Alene’s Kale Edwards provides a screen as Gavin Margo dribbles the ball around Kentridge defender Moses Moore during a Lake City Invitational game. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — Patient offense. Crisp passing. Close-in looks converted into easy baskets.
This was the formula Columbia River used to open the game ... and the formula Post Falls used to close it out, as a 15-0 second-half run led the Trojans past the Chieftains 58-54 on Thursday, the opening day of the 2018 Lake City Invitational.
Columbia River (5-2) opened the game with 3-pointers from Nate Snook and Caden Dezort, then used a variety of back-door cuts and layups to open a 19-10 lead five minutes into the game. The Chieftains shot 8-for-11 from the floor in the opening quarter and 14-for-21 in the first half.
“We knew Columbia River prides itself on running a very deliberate offense, until they catch their opponent in a mistake. And we fell for it, giving them a lot of open looks,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said.
Much of the Chieftains’ offense flowed through 6-foot-6 senior post Evan Dirksen, and he delivered, scoring 15 of his 20 points before intermission on a variety of post moves, drives and outside jump shots. But a key moment occurred late in the third quarter, as Trojans junior Colby Gennett stole the ball and was fouled as he spun toward the basket. The foul was Dirksen’s fourth, and Gennett and Post Falls post Gavven Desjarlais repeatedly took advantage, driving at the Columbia River big man for easy scores during the fourth quarter.
The baskets were part of a 15-0 run that covered roughly nine minutes of the third and fourth periods, changing Columbia River’s 42-33 lead to a 49-42 Post Falls advantage with 4:35 remaining.
“We talked at halftime ... the only way we could get back in the game was by picking up our defense,” said Gennett, who tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and four steals. “We knew we could score with them — we just had to shut them down.”
The Chieftains finally broke their nine-minute scoring drought on a Dezort 3-pointer, which trimmed the lead to 49-45 with 3:27 remaining. The teams exchanged foul shots until Dirksen’s putback and free throw for an old-fashioned 3-point play made the score 56-54 with 7 seconds remaining, but two free throws from Post Falls sophomore Cole Rutherford iced the win.
“In the second half, we finally set screens, we were aggressive and were looking to attack on offense,” McLean said. “Down the stretch, I was very proud of our guys — we gave Columbia River a taste of their own medicine. We played deliberate, made them play defense and took what we wanted.”
Alex Horning had 20 points and five rebounds for the Trojans, who outrebounded the Chieftains 25-17. Post Falls also shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the floor after intermission and 51.3 percent (19-for-37) for the game. The Trojans (6-4) face Kentridge (8-2) at 7 tonight.
Snook had 16 points for Columbia River, which was whistled for 23 fouls and had three players foul out. The Chieftains battle Mead at 3:30 today.
Columbia River 19 15 8 12 — 54
Post Falls 16 11 16 15 — 58
COLUMBIA RIVER — Snook 16, Miller 4, Dirksen 20, Dezort 10, Armstrong 2, Kukula 0, Asplund 2, Valdez 0.
POST FALLS — Gennett 20, C. Rutherford 5, Ballew 4, Desjarlais 7, Horning 20, Mitchell 2, J. Rutherford 0, Shields 0, Hauser 0.
Lake City 53
Mead 52
Josh Stellflug scored nine points in the third quarter, finishing with a team-high 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots for the Timberwolves in a win over the Panthers.
“We finally found a way to get it done,” Lake City assistant coach Kelly Reed said. “We’ve been in each game and found ways not to get it done. But the kids made some plays when they had to and took care of business.”
Jack Kiesbuy had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals for Lake City (1-6), which faces South Kitsap tonight at 5:15.
Mead 10 13 13 16 — 52
Lake City 12 9 20 12 — 53
MEAD — Baird 4, Sloan 2, Wrenn 0, Rogalette 22, Shoff 6, Russell 2, Wenkheimer 10, Prado 0, Reighard 4, Allen 2.
LAKE CITY — Stellflug 14, Janke 5, Kiesbuy 13, Spellman 4, Hansen 11, Sundstrom 0, Brum 6, Sallis 0.
Kentridge 69
Coeur d’Alene 64
Kale Edwards scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the second half for the Vikings in a loss to the Chargers in the Lake City Holiday Invitational at Lake City High.
“We made a nice run and did a good job of cutting the deficit down,” Coeur d’Alene coach Tony Hanna said. “They knocked down their free-throws (going 6 of 8 in the fourth quarter). The second quarter is really what killed us. They just beat us on the boards and to the loose balls. We didn’t have any energy tonight. If we would have played with the same energy in the fourth quarter all game, we might have played a little differently. We’ll learn from it and come back tomorrow.”
Connor King scored 12 points for Coeur d’Alene (5-3), which faces North Central today at 2 p.m. Jett Briceno scored 23 points for Kentridge (8-2), which faces Post Falls tonight at 7.
Kentridge 14 20 19 16 — 69
Coeur d’Alene 18 9 12 25 — 64
KENTRIDGE — Medina 4, Moore 4, Banks 8, Hayes 0, Jeffery 0, Victoria 0, Briceno 23, Pop 8, Paznoras 20, Lippel 2.
COEUR d’ALENE — Whittaker 4, Johnson 8, Karns 0, Friesz 11, King 12, Hostetter 6, Margo 1, Edwards 22.
North Central 45
South Kitsap 43
The Indians, making the short trip from Spokane, withstood a late rally by Wolves (2-2) to win their tournament opener.
South Kitsap’s Kyler Kelso (19 points) hit a 3-pointer to cut North Central’s lead to two points with nine seconds remaining, but following a missed free throw, a shot to tie the game went off the back rim.
Kiernan Knight (13 points) and Parish Neil (10 points) led North Central, which faces Coeur d’Alene at 2 p.m. today. South Kitsap battles host Lake City at 5:15.