PREP ROUNDUP: Inside game leads St. Maries past Timberlake
ST. MARIES - A consistent inside scoring attack and strong defense led the St. Maries boys basketball team to a 60-30 nonleague win over visiting Timberlake on Monday night.
"I'm really proud of the boys for their defensive effort - we held them to nine field goals in the game," Lumberjacks coach Bryan Chase said. "And we focused on getting the ball inside early and often."
St. Maries (10-0) scored 40 of its 60 points in the paint, with junior Tristan Gentry scoring 10 of his 14 points before halftime.
Coleman Ross added 12 points and four steals for the Lumberjacks, who travel to Priest River on Thursday.
Zach Yetter led the Tigers (3-8) with 14 points. Timberlake travels to league foe Bonners Ferry on Saturday.
Timberlake 9 13 6 2 - 30
St. Maries 23 16 11 10 - 60
TIMBERLAKE - Riley 0, Taylor Menti 4, Paslay 7, Yetter 14, Millsap 0, Higgins 5, Tanner Menti 0, Simpson 0.
ST. MARIES - Sands 8, Ross 12, Becktel 3, Gentry 14, Stancil 5, Elliott 4, Gibson 2, Ledbetter 6, Renner 6, McMaster 0.
The Oaks 61, NICS 59
SPOKANE VALLEY - North Idaho Christian's Royals had a chance to clinch the Mountain Christian League title on Monday, but host The Oaks had other ideas.
The visiting Royals trailed by 12 with about four minutes to play, and whittled the lead to two late in the game. They had the ball with nine seconds left, had a couple shots at the basket, but couldn't convert, coach Shawn Thompson said.
"The Oaks played amazing tonight, and they deserved to win," Thompson added. "We each have one loss in the league, and go back to play them again next Monday."
Malachi Bullington had 31 points and 12 rebounds for NICS (14-6 overall, 7-1 MCL), which travels to Stillwater Christian in Kalispell, Mont., on Saturday. Morgan O'Brian added 15 for the Royals.
Isaiah Guillen led four Oaks players in double-figures with 16 points.
NICS 9 13 11 26 - 59
The Oaks 14 12 17 18 - 61
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Desrochers 0, Pilgrim 4, Smith 0, O'Brian 15, Alliano 3, Bryan 0, Johnson 5, Grassi 1, Bullington 31, Sakae 0.
THE OAKS - Palpant 10, Guillen 16, Christensen 8, Kim 12, Harken 15, Krentel 0, Shubin 0.
Girls basketball
Timberlake 83, St. Maries 17
SPIRIT LAKE - The visiting Lumberjacks scored the first five points and shut out Timberlake for a couple minutes ... but it was all Tigers after that.
Blayre Jeffs scored 17 points as four players scored in double-figures for Timberlake (11-3), which outscored St. Maries 29-7 in the opening quarter.
"After the first couple minutes, we started moving the ball better and shooting the ball really well," Tigers coach Matt Miller said. "Blayre had a really good game, but our balance was the best thing - everyone was getting good looks and knocking 'em down."
Brooke Jessen had 16 points, Taryn Soumas 15 points and Bernie Carhart scored 12 points for Timberlake, which hosts Post Falls on Thursday.
Jenna Holder had 13 points for St. Maries (4-9), which travels to Orofino on Saturday.
St. Maries 7 4 6 0 - 17
Timberlake 29 22 17 15 - 83
ST. MARIES - Sines 0, Janssen 0, Badgett 2, McGreal 0, Christensen 0, Rimel 2, Watkins 0, Mitchell 0, Holder 13, Miller 0.
TIMBERLAKE - T. Soumas 15, Hammond 8, Kronenberg 6, C. Soumas 7, Carhart 12, Jessen 16, Bain 2, Jeffs 17.
NICS 60, The Oaks 24
SPOKANE VALLEY - Senior Grace Gwin scored 15 points and led a balanced Royals offense as the visitors opened a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
Danica Kelly had seven points, five steals and five assists for NICS (14-3 overall, 8-0 Mountain Christian League) while Rylee Overturf added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Symone Pilgrim added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Royals, who travel to Bonners Ferry on Wednesday.
Gloria Depalo led The Oaks with 10 points.
NICS 22 15 14 9 - 60
The Oaks 6 10 2 6 - 24
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Kelly 7, Pilgrim 9, Gwin 15, H. Malinauskeas 3, Nelson 2, K. Malinauskeas 7, Connelly 7, Gilmar 0, Overturf 10.
THE OAKS - Welch 3, E. Dykstra 1, Depalo 10, Claynly 2, S. Dykstra 3, Reed 2, Love 1, Palpant 2.