PREP BASKETBALL: Lake City boys earn top seed to regionals
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
COEUR d'ALENE — It’s an age-old strategy in basketball — try to get the other team’s best player in foul trouble, and go to work from there.
Junior post Cameren Cope, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings's top player, was whistled for two fouls in the first three minutes of Friday's Inland Empire League game at Lake City, and spent the rest of the first half on the bench.
The Vikings led 8-2 at the time after a hot start, but Lake City quickly answered with a 10-2 run.
The Timberwolves used two more spurts to build a 14-point halftime lead, and weathered a couple of Coeur d'Alene runs in the second half to notch a 75-59 victory on senior night.
"He (Cope) is good on the boards, and we wanted to take him out so we could control the game better," said Lake City sophomore wing Zach Johnson, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. "It works to our advantage when he goes off the court, yeah. It makes it easier to rebound, that’s for sure. They don’t get a lot of second-chance points, where they excel when he’s on the court."
"Zach did a really good job; it’s a personal mission of his to be the best rebounder on the floor, and he certainly is becoming that," Lake City coach Jim Winger said.
Lake City (13-6, 4-2 5A Inland Empire League) earned a share of the league title, and more importantly, secured the No. 1 seed to the 5A Region 1 tournament which begins next Friday.
Lake City will play host to No. 4 seed Coeur d'Alene (7-8, 1-5) next Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the first round at regionals.
Blake Buchanan had 20 points and nine rebounds for Lake City, who won the tiebreaker over Lewiston based on point differential in their two league meetings — Lake City won by 29 at home, and lost by two at Lewiston.
Kolton Mitchell hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half for the T-Wolves.
"Cam getting in foul trouble definitely hurt us," Coeur d'Alene coach Jon Adams said. "But I was proud of our guys to keep us in the game.
"They outrebounded us. Buchanan is a handful, and when Cam's not in there, he's hard to handle."
Sophomore point guard Steven Burgess scored a game-high 25 points for Coeur d'Alene, 13 in the first half to help the Vikings stay within striking distance. He also had three steals as Coeur d'Alene got some results from its three-quarter-court trap in the second half.
Cope scored all eight of his points in the second half, and finished with eight rebounds.
Lake City was in the bonus late in the first quarter, and finished 29 of 36 at the line. Coeur d'Alene was 13 of 17 on free throws.
The Vikings finished 21 of 46 from the field, done in by a 1-for-15 showing in the second quarter. Lake City was 20 of 41 from the floor, including 6 of 10 from 3.
Jack Kiesbuy had a three-point play and a 3-point basket in Lake City's first-quarter surge after Cope sat.
But Coeur d'Alene, which shot 9 of 13 from the field in the first quarter, led 23-17 late in the quarter on a drive by Burgess.
"Statistically, you’re better off making them beat you from outside then letting them use their athletic ability to take the ball to the basket," Winger said.
"They executed exactly what we wanted them to do in the first quarter, but they ended up with 23 points, so that didn’t prove out to be real accurate," he added with a laugh.
Johnson's jump hook in the post capped a 15-2 Lake City run right after that, and Mitchell's pull-up 3 from 25 feet at the halftime buzzer capped an 11-2 burst which sent the T-Wolves into the locker room up 43-29.
"I was really happy with how kids kept their composure in the first quarter. We didn’t panic … " Winger said. "I told them at the end of the first quarter, you guys are doing what you’re supposed to do; that’s on me, so we’ll fix that."
Lake City led by 18 early in the third after a couple inside baskets by Buchanan — including a slam off an alley-oop pass from Kiesbuy to open the quarter.
But Coeur d'Alene came back with a 12-2 run, and pulled within 51-45 on a steal and basket by Burgess with 2 minutes left in the quarter.
But the T-Wolves regained control, and led by double digits throughout the fourth quarter.
"Steven stepped up and played fantastic," Adams said. "We quickly brushed this off afterward; we get another shot at ’em on Friday."
Coeur d'Alene is idle until the rematch next Friday.
Lake City wraps up the regular season Tuesday at Sandpoint in a nonleague game.
Coeur d’Alene 23 6 18 12 — 59
Lake City 19 24 15 17 — 75
COEUR d’ALENE — Bengtson 0, King 3, Prka 5, Burgess 25, Larson 7, Ivankovich 0, Entzi 0, Gatten 0, Cope 8, Smith 0, Reyes 4, McLaughlin 7.
LAKE CITY — Buchanan 20, Janke 4, Irvin 0, J. Kiesbuy 14, Spellman 0, Johnson 11, Mitchell 22, Meredith 4, Bowman 0.