5A REGION 1 BOYS BASKETBALL: Coeur d'Alene advances to state play-in game

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d’ALENE — With their season on the line, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings turned to a new motion offense they had yet to unveil in a game.

The Viking guards made it work, and sophomore Logan Orchard led a balanced attack with 12 points as the Vikings defeated the Lewiston Bengals 54-38 in a loser-out, second-place game of the 5A Region 1 tournament Thursday night at Viking Court to advance to a state play-in game.

Coeur d’Alene (16-5) will play Meridian (16-9), a 48-45 winner in overtime over Timberline of Boise, on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Grangeville High. Coeur d’Alene won at Meridian, last year’s state champion, 40-29 on Dec. 30 in the finale of three games in three days in the Boise area over the holidays.

“We actually entered a new motion offense that we wanted to run out this week, that nobody has seen before,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jon Adams said. “I take my hat off to our guards. That team has really good athletes, they rebound the heck out of the ball. But our guards played phenomenal. Between Cooper (Larson), Steven (Burgess) and Logan (Orchard), they were getting to the rim, they were rebounding well, and in the second half they were taking care of the ball, drawing contact, and we just lived at the foul line.”

Cameren Cope added 10 points, Cooper Larson nine for Coeur d’Alene, which lost to Lewiston 51-46 last Friday at home in the first round of regionals.

“We’d been practicing (the new offense for the past 2-3 weeks,” Adams said. “It was gutsy. Jayson (Ulrich, Lewiston’s coach) does as good a job as anybody at scouting teams, so you almost have to have some new stuff, or he’s got it all locked down.”

Chanse Eke and Cruz Hepburn scored nine points each for Lewiston, the only team to beat Lake City this season, which finished 17-7.

Lewiston, held to 4 of 18 from 3 in a 49-point loss at Lake City on Tuesday in the regional title game, hit 7 of 22 from deep against Coeur d’Alene, and was 14 of 45 from the field overall.

“We just struggled scoring,” Ulrich said. “We got great looks. You just have those nights where it gets a little tighter, a little tighter around the rim.”

Cope, Coeur d’Alene’s top inside threat, picked up two fouls in the first quarter, then two quick fouls in the third, but Lewiston was unable to take advantage with him on the bench.

“Cam is a difference maker,” Adams said. “With him in foul trouble, to see our ability to win without him, between Alexander Nipp, Gunner Larson … Sam Entzi. I’m super proud of my kids, how they came together in this game.”

“This year, they peaked at the right time, and we didn’t,” Ulrich said. “We were right up there in the rankings (No. 6 in 5A by MaxPreps), and when you have four teams up here in the 5A IEL, it sucks when you have 1 ½ go (to state).”

Lewiston 17 7 7 7 — 38

Coeur d’Alene 20 13 11 10 — 54

LEWISTON — Eke 9, McKarcher 3, Bramlet 0, Way 8, Hepburn 9, A. Hottinger 0, Forsman 6, Wren 0, Lawrence 0, White 2, D. Hottinger 1, Gomez 0.

COEUR d’ALENE — DeGraw 1, Entzi 6, King 0, C. Larson 9, Wellsandt 3, Nipp 5, Cope 10, Burgess 6, Orchard 12, G. Larson 2.