PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Next step, state 2A for Lumberjacks

ST. MARIES — This stepping up in key situations is turning into a yearly tradition for St. Maries senior guard Brett Stancil.

Stancil made 5 of 9 3-pointers for the Lumberjacks, who blitzed past the Grangeville Bulldogs 63-30 on Wednesday in the 2A District 1-2 championship game for the program’s seventh-straight district title.

“When Brett does that, he stretches the floor for the rest of us,” St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. “He really helps our total game. He had a game like this last year, so it’s really old hat for him.”

St. Maries (20-1) opens at state against the District 4 champion, either Ambrose or Melba, next Thursday at 6 p.m. PST at Eagle High. A win next Thursday could put the Lumberjacks into a semifinal with North Fremont (19-0), which has won the last two state 2A titles.

“This is a special group,” said Chase, in his seventh season. “It’s not very often we’ve been able to hold a team to 30 points. It really says a lot about this team and playing good defense. They’re really focused on winning a championship.”

Senior post Randie Becktel had seven points and seven rebounds, junior post Tristan Gentry 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists and senior guard Eli Gibson five points and three assists for St. Maries.

Blake Schoo scored eight points for Grangeville, which finished 9-7.

Grangeville 14 4 6 6 — 30

St. Maries 25 7 19 12 — 63

GRANGEVILLE — D. Lindsley 3, Lefebrve 4, Wimer 1, Schoo 8, Ebert 7, J. Lindsley 3, Frei 4.

ST. MARIES — Sands 2, Wolfe 0, Ross 6, Becktel 7, Badgett 0, Gentry 14, Stancil 17, Gibson 5, Elliott 0, T. Wicks 0, C. Wicks 2, T. Renner 2, C. Renner 8, Ledbetter 0, McMaster 0.

Bonners Ferry 68

Kellogg 55

KELLOGG — Ridge Williams scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the third-seeded Badgers beat the second-seeded Wildcats in the 3A District 1 second-place game at Andrews Gymnasium.

Kellogg, which had won the previous seven district championships, beat Bonners Ferry 59-56 in the opening round on Monday in Kellogg.

“They handled our pressure a little better tonight,” first-year Kellogg coach Mike Martin said. “We’d saved some looks for districts and got some better results Monday, but they had a chance to regroup and figure out how to attack it. Bonners Ferry did a good job of knocking down shots.”

Bonners Ferry (10-7) will face the winner of tonight’s game between Parma and Weiser in a state play-in game on Saturday at Grangeville High.

Riply Luna scored 20 points, Logan Jerome 16 points for Kellogg, which finished 10-9.

“Whenever we’d get on a run, Bonners would knock down a shot,” Martin said. “Our kids left it all out there. It’s disappointing to go out like this, but I’m proud of the kids for how hard they fought this year.”

Bonners Ferry 9 18 18 23 — 68

Kellogg 7 16 12 20 — 55

BONNERS FERRY — Williams 15, Petersen 5, Rice 8, Henslee 5, Stockton 10, Hubbard 8, Mai 0, Beazer 2, Bateman 0, Blackmore 15.

KELLOGG — Miller 0, Whatcott 0, R. Luna 20, K. Luna 7, McLean 0, Groves 2, Maciosek 0, Frohlich 6, Walker 4, Jerome 16, Lonn 0.

Clark Fork 53

Mullan 24

MULLAN — Cameron Garcia, later named the North Star League MVP, scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Wampus Cats past the Tigers in the 1A Division II District 1 championship game at the Mullan Pavilion.

“Clark Fork did the things necessary to win the game tonight,” Mullan coach Paul Elston said. “They played pretty well I thought. We were outgunned and outmatched physically. Our younger kids played hard, but it wasn’t in the cards this year.”

Clark Fork (4-12), which advances to state for the first time since 2008, will face the District 5-6 runner-up next Wednesday at Caldwell High.

Floyd Nelson scored nine points for Mullan, which finished 6-7. The Tigers were without starters Luke Trogden and Riley Trogden. Luke Trogden suffered a left ankle injury on Tuesday, and Riley Trogden was injured in the second quarter.

“We were down two starters, and it was a difficult thing to overcome,” Elston said.

Clark Fork 10 24 12 7 — 53

Mullan 7 8 2 7 — 24

CLARK FORK — Garcia 21, Ch. SanRoman 0, Car. SanRoman 16, Reuter 3, R. Matteson 0, Mintken 0, Barnett 8, Mayorga 2, Shelton 3, Wade 0, Christofferson 0.

MULLAN — R. Trogden 5, Nelson 9, Layton 2, Lowman 0, Zingler 4, A. Trogden 1, Haning 1, Houston 1, Appiah 0, S. Petit 0, Knoll 0, L. Petit 2.

ALL-NORTH STAR LEAGUE

MVP — Cameron Garcia, sr., Clark Fork

Carter SanRoman, jr., Clark Fork; Sam Barnett, jr., Clark Fork; Chris Wade, sr.; Clark Fork; Luke Trogden, jr., Mullan; Riley Trogden, sr., Mullan.