STATE BOYS BASKETBALL: All in on redemption for Lumberjacks

| March 4, 2021 1:20 AM

By MARK NELKE

and JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writers

Senior point guard Eli Gibson very nearly gave St. Maries its first state boys basketball title since 1960 as a sophomore.

The iron was unkind on that day.

Two years later, the Lumberjacks are 20-1 with all eyes on changing that history in the coming days.

“I praise Eli a lot,” St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. “He played a lot in that game, and his growth as a player has hit the sky. He doesn’t let guys screw around in practice and keeps them focused. He’s done a great job of getting them prepared and onto another level this season.”

Gibson's attempt rolled off the rim at the buzzer for the Lumberjacks, who were held to two points in overtime to North Fremont, losing 45-37.

Wins this season included two against Lakeside, which claimed the state 1A Division II championship in 2020. St. Maries split games with Lapwai, winning 65-58 on Jan. 11 and losing 75-66 at Lapwai on Feb. 8.

Last season, St. Maries fell to West Side 62-41 in the semifinals, then beat Cole Valley Christian 47-29 to finish third. St. Maries has appeared in the semifinals the previous six seasons.

“We had one bad game at state last year,” Chase said. “Our main thing this year is to be focused, determined and control the things we can control.”

St. Maries opens with Melba (19-4), the District 3 champion. Melba upset Ambrose (19-2) in the district championship game. The Archers, who won the Division I title in 2020 before moving up a classification, open with Bear Lake (16-9) later today at Eagle High.

Defending champion North Fremont (20-0) faces West Side (20-6) in the first game today, with that winner facing the winner of the St. Maries/Melba game in the semifinals on Friday. Wendell (16-7) faces New Plymouth (17-8) in the late game at Eagle tonight.

“I think our defense will keep us in the game,” Chase said. “Fortunately with this team, we’ve got seven guys that can score points. If we can get them going, I think we’re going to do well down there.”

Ambrose had won 11 straight games before falling to Melba in the district championship game and returns four starters from last year's championship team. ... Bear Lake is back at state after a one-year absence and won titles in 2017 and 2018 and bringing home the consolation championship in 2019. ... Melba has not won a first round game or trophy at state since 2011. ... New Plymouth last reached the championship game in 2013, but lost in the title game to Grangeville. ... Wendell is at state for the first time since 2016, when the Trojans finished third. ...

Rocky Mountain of Meridian, which plays Lake City in the first round today at 10:30 a.m. at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, is at state for the ninth straight year despite returning zero starters from last year’s third-place finisher. Rocky lost to Post Falls each of the last two years at state, including last year in the semifinals. Dane Roy, in his 10 season as Rocky's coach, plans to step down after the season to become the athletic director at Owyhee High, the newest school in Meridian. ... Borah of Boise, which beat Post Falls in last year's title game — the last state championship event prior to the COVID-19 pandemic stoppage — did not qualify this year. Post Falls was eliminated at regionals by Lewiston. ... Thunder Ridge, a third-year school in Idaho Falls, won its league in District 5-6, but lost to Madison and Rigby at districts and did not qualify for state. Madison beat Lake City by 25 points in December; Thunder Ridge defeated the T-Wolves by three. ... Meridian, the top-ranked team in the state all season, is led by Brody Rowbury, a 6-10 senior forward who leads the Warriors in points (17.0 ppg), rebounds (8.9) and field-goal percentage (60.4%).

Bishop Kelly, which plays Lakeland today at 1 p.m. PST in the first round at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian, lost three games to District 3 champ Middleton, and its two other losses were to 5A schools. The Knights allow only 44 points per game, and no one averages more than 9.9 points per game. ... Preston, which could face Lakeland in the semis, is the defending 4A champion, and has won four of the last five state titles. But the Indians graduated three key starters from last year's 26-1 juggernaut. ... Middleton beat Lake City in the semifinals of Middleton's tournament, before losing to Post Falls in the title game. Third-year Middleton coach Andy Harrington has already accepted the head coaching job at the new Owyhee High, which opens this fall in Meridian.

Priest River, which opens tonight vs. McCall-Donnelly at 6 PST at Columbia High in Nampa, is at state for the first time since 2011, which is the last time the Spartans won a district title. Priest River won its only state title in 2010. The Spartans are led by junior swingman Trentyn Kreager (18.2 ppg), and also benefitted from Washington's shutdown in athletics until February, gaining two players (Jordan and Dylan Nortz, a junior and freshman, respectively) who would have been at Riverside of Chattaroy, Wash. Priest River also gained a transfer from nearby Newport, junior Blake Barrett, unrelated to COVID ... McCall-Donnelly didn't play its first game until Jan. 15 because of its school district's coronavirus policy. ... Bonners Ferry, led by a talented class of six sophomores, is at state for the first time since 2008, and the Badgers' last trophy from state was a consolation title in 2002. ... Teton, which opens vs. Bonners Ferry today at 1 p.m. PST at Columbia High, is at state for the first time in 21 years. Sugar-Salem, last year's champ, did not qualify for state.