1A DIVISION I DISTRICT 1 BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP: Shorthanded Lakeside tops Wallace for state berth

PLUMMER — After losing last year’s league MVP to a knee injury just days before the title game, other Lakeside players stepped up to lead the Knights past the Wallace Miners 65-52 in the 1A Division I District 1 championship game Friday night at Ron Miller Court.

JJ Hall scored 25 points for Lakeside (14-4), hitting 10 of 16 free throws.

“He just put his head down and was going to the hoop,” Lakeside coach James Twoteeth said. “He stepped up pretty good.”

Lakeside advances to state at Caldwell High, opening Wednesday at 11 a.m. PST vs. Oakley (19-3).

Carter Bailey scored 31 points for Wallace, which finished 9-11.

On Sunday at practice, senior Darren “Day Day” Higgins, the MVP of the North Star League as a junior, suffered a torn meniscus in his knee, and is lost for the season.

Sophomore Vander Brown chipped in 13 points for the Knights.

“Lucky Matt, a freshman, provided a really good boost off the bench,” Twoteeth said.

Lakeside, playing for the first time since Feb. 11, led just 22-20 at halftime against a Miners squad that beat the Knights 57-55 in that game two weeks ago.

Lakeside got untracked in the third quarter, and opened up a big lead.

“You could tell we’d been out for two weeks,” Twoteeth said. “We had to grind it out. That third quarter, we came out more aggressive, got out in transition, and wore 'em down a little bit.”

Lakeside won the 1A Division II state title last year, and moved up to Division I this season.

Wallace 6 14 11 21 — 52

Lakeside 8 14 20 23 — 65

WALLACE — Tesky 4, Farkas 2, Hogamier 11, Bailey 31, Morin 1, Hull 5, Hammerberg 1.

LAKESIDE — L. Matt 4, Brown 13, Abuan 7, SiJohn 0, Q. Hall 4, J. Hall 25, Spotted Horse 9, Louie 2, C. Matt 1.

ALL-SCENIC IDAHO CONFERENCE

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER — Kenyon Spotted Horse, sr., Lakeside.

ALL-LEAGUE — Darren “Day Day” Higgins, sr., Lakeside; Vander Brown, so., Lakeside; Hayden Hogamier, sr., Wallace; Carter Bailey, sr., Wallace; Nathan Weeks, sr., Genesis Prep; Eli Gonzales, sr., Genesis Prep.