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4A Region 1 boys basketball championship series: Moscow forces deciding Game 3

| February 27, 2021 1:25 AM

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

RATHDRUM — Maybe it was a little bit jitters from the home team, looking to advance to state for the first time since 2016.

Maybe it was a little bit championship experience from the visiting team, which played in the state championship game.

Whatever, the Lakeland Hawks and Moscow Bears are heading to a winner-take-all game for the second straight year, after the Bears held off the Hawks 67-56 in Game 2 of their best-of-3 series for the 4A Region 1 title Friday night at Hawk Court.

"Well we couldn't throw it in the ocean from the boat," Lakeland coach Dave Stockwell said. "I mean, honest to God, we were so amped up — turnovers, and then we got ourselves in a hole. Moscow played really, really well, shot really well ... they deserved to win tonight. We did not deserve to win tonight."

Lakeland (10-9) will play host to Moscow (7-9) tonight at 6, with the winner advancing to state at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian beginning Thursday.

It will be the teams' fifth meeting in 15 days.

Noah Haaland scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half for Lakeland, which managed just 16 points in the first half. But Moscow, the four-time defending regional champ, made enough 3-pointers and enough free throws down the stretch to stave off the Hawks.

Moscow shot 19 of 35 (54.3%) from the field, including 11 of 18 (61.1%) from 3-point range.

Lakeland started in a zone, then switched to man-to-man after the first quarter.

"We had too, we got behind so far," Stockwell said. "They're very methodical, and they play really well with the lead. We decided to get some energy going, get the ball in the hole a little bit."

"When we were shooting like we were early on, no, I didn't want to get them out of a zone — I wanted them to stay in it," Moscow coach Josh Uhrig said. "But I thought we handled it better when we did go to man, and we executed better and were still getting looks that we wanted."

Lakeland was 5 for 21 (23.8%) from the field in the first half, and 22 of 51 (43.1%) for the game. The Hawks also had 15 turnovers.

Jalen Skalskiy added 10 points and five rebounds for Lakeland, and Haaland had seven boards, two steals and three of the Hawks' four dunks.

Reserves Bryden Brown and Dylan Rehder led Moscow with 12 points each. Brown scored nine of his points in the first half, and finished with three 3s.

The Bears made 3 of 4 3s in the first quarter for a 15-8 lead. In the second, Brown and Sam Kees made 3s in a 9-0 run that boosted Moscow to a 29-16 halftime lead.

With Haaland and Skalskiy, both 6-8, as perimeter defenders, Moscow has to work extra hard for looks, because there's not many openings. And if the Bears get it inside, there's the fear of being swatted.

"Their length just causes fits, whether it's zone or man," Uhrig said. "I don't know what defense I want them in, but I know most of the time the defense they're in is not the defense I want them in."

Haaland scored 10 of Lakeland's first 12 points in the third quarter. The Hawks pulled within 34-30 with just over 3 minutes left on a steal and dunk by Skalskiy.

But Moscow answered with a 3 from Benny Kitchel, who was scoreless in the first half after picking up two quick fouls and sitting most of the half, and a feed from Jamari Simpson to Tyler Skinner for a hoop.

Lakeland got it to within 6 again midway through the fourth, but Kees answered with a 3.

Down 10 with two minutes left, Lakeland played the foul game. Moscow missed two of its first four free throws, and the Hawks pulled within 55-50 on a dunk by Haaland with just over a minute left.

But the Bears went 12 for 12 at the line over the final 1:07.

"I've got five returning guys, and they remind everyone what's at stake," Uhrig said. "We've got a lot of youth and inexperience, but those older guys keep reminding them what the end goal is, and what it takes to get there."

"It's not the end of the world," Stockwell said of the loss. "They're very disappointed of course, because I really think, top to bottom, we're the better team; we just didn't show it tonight."

Moscow 15 14 10 28 — 67

Lakeland 8 8 16 24 — 56

MOSCOW — Brown 12, Simpson 9, Abendroth 8, Kees 10, Rehder 12, Colter 2, Kitchel 10, Skinner 4.

LAKELAND — Hocking 0, Seay 6, Henry 2, Am. Munyer 0, Haaland 30, Roth 6, Waddington 2, Skalskiy 10.

photo

JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Noah Haaland (15) of Lakeland blocks a shot by Tyler Skinner of Moscow on Friday in Game 2 of a best-of-3 series for the 4A Region 1 basketball championship at Hawk Court.