IDAHO HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAMES: Worth the wait ... area stars shine in 20th annual games at North Idaho College

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — For some, their senior year will soon be coming to an end.

For Kelsey Cessna of Sandpoint High, at least athletically, it could have been well over before it even started.

“My sophomore year, I tore both my ACL and meniscus in my left knee and had surgery on it,” Cessna said. “Then during the summer last year, we figured out that the surgery didn’t work. So everything was re-torn, so I went back to the doctor, a new one, and they told me I could play if it wasn’t hurting and they could get me a new brace, or you can get surgery right now. I told him this was my last season, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll get surgery right away.”

Sporting a bulky brace, Cessna helped the Bulldog girls soccer team reach the third-place game at state the past fall. Then in February, she helped Sandpoint win its first state title in girls basketball.

“It’s going to be a long recovery, but it was well worth it to me,” Cessna said.

On Saturday, her final high school game, Cessna scored 10 points for the Region All-Stars in an 84-80 loss to the Metro in the 20th Idaho high school all-star girls basketball game at North Idaho College.

In the boys game, Lake City senior Blake Buchanan, the Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year who help lead Lake City to a 26-0 season and first state title in program history, dazzled with a win in the slam dunk contest, then scored 19 points to earn MVP honors for the Region in a 116-115 win over the Metro in the boys game.

“I wanted to hit that between-the-legs dunk on the first try,” Buchanan said. “That was a really big one. In the game, I wasn’t making a lot of moves and doing what I could do and have some fun.”

Bishop Kelly’s Addie Hiler earned MVP honors in the girls game, hitting five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points.

In the 3-point contest, Bishop Kelly’s Joe Behrand outscored Sugar-Salem’s Kennedy Gillette 24-13 to win the championship.

Since changing the format in 2016 from North vs. South to a Metro (Boise area) vs. Region (rest of the state), the Region boys have won three of seven games. The Region girls lead the current series 5-2.

From the announcement of the rosters in late February to Saturday’s game, 13 players — including five from the Southern Idaho Conference — did not participate due to scheduling issues around spring break, according to game organizers.

Boys: Lakeside senior guard Vander Brown scored 19 points for the Region, starting the game with the likes of Buchanan and Kolton Mitchell of Lake City High.

“There’s good players all around the state,” Brown said. “It doesn’t matter what classification you’re in. Getting to play in games like this is a blessing. Stuff like this, and getting to play in this was a blessing because I got to showcase my talent. 1A kids can play with 5A kids, and 3A kids can play with 4A kids, it’s not about classification. It’s not about what size you are, it’s about who puts in the work during the offseason.”

Brown, who has offers to play basketball at NAIA Lewis-Clark State and Yakima Valley of the Northwest Athletic Conference, capped his high school career with a win in the 1A Division I championship game on March 4 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, his second title after winning as a freshman in 2020.

“Getting two state titles and getting the chance to play with the best kids in the state, it’s a great way to cap my career,” Brown said. “It feels pretty good.”

Buchanan, who has signed with Virginia, finished with 19 points. Mitchell, headed to Idaho State, scored 11.

Greyson Sands of St. Maries scored eight for the Region.

“Just playing with some bigger competition and better players, it was a lot of fun,” Sands said. “It was definitely an experience. Watching Blake when he’s getting up and he’s looking down at the rim and throwing down windmill dunks, it was definitely an experience.”

Sands missed almost a month of the season with a knee injury before returning before the end of the regular season.

“It was amazing to be back on the court,” Sands said. “There was a time there where I didn’t know if I’d be able to play again. It was nice to come back and finish third (in 2A) with my team at St. Maries and finish things with this game. It was really amazing.”

Sands has received some offers to continue playing basketball, but is undecided on his next move.

“I’m still thinking things over right now,” Sands said. “I definitely want to continue playing basketball because it’s my passion. So we’ll see where it goes. I’m hoping for a four-year NAIA school, but we’ll see where it goes.”

Scotty Hocking, a guard from Lakeland, scored nine for the Region.

“We usually haven’t had a big, so it was fun to play with a guy that knows what he’s doing inside,” Hocking said. “Everyone could make shots, and it was a lot of fun to watch.”

Hocking is undecided on his future plans at this point. But if the right offer comes …

“I really don’t want to go too far from here, but we’ll see what happens,” Hocking said. “I want to go to NIC if I could, but we’ll see what happens.”

Timberline post AJ LeBeau scored a game-high 22 for the Metro team.

Metro 30 28 27 30 — 115

Region 29 30 27 30 — 116

METRO — Eloy Chaparro (Skyview) 16, Eddie Rodriguez (Fruitland) 7, Gabe Navarro (Nampa) 17, Porter McLinn (Council) 2, Jack Keller (Columbia) 13, Jaydin Morrin-Bishop (Payette) 7, Joe Behrand (Bishop Kelly) 19, Max Myers (Cole Valley Christian) 4, Braden Volkers (Melba) 9, AJ LaBeau (Timberline) 22.

REGION — Blake Buchanan (Lake City) 19, Terrell Ellenwood-Jones (Lapwai) 4, Noah Nunez (Rigby) 9, Vander Brown (Lakeside) 19, Greyson Sands (St. Maries) 8, Carsn Perkes (Carey) 8, Jakobe Jones (Rigby) 12, Ty Gilbert (Grace) 3, Kolton Mitchell (Lake City) 11, Scotty Hocking (Lakeland) 9, Kobe Kesler (Hillcrest) 10, Braeden Blackmore (Bonners Ferry) 4.

Girls: Cessna, still undecided on her future plans, will have surgery in the next two weeks.

“The NIC people just talked to me and they want me to come play for them,” Cessna said. “I still don’t know yet because I’d have to redshirt my first year, so I’m still thinking about that.”

It’s arguable that Coeur d’Alene High senior Madi Symons has also done some of her best thinking inside the friendly confines of Rolly Williams Court.

From late-night workouts to sleeping in the bleachers as her father — NIC men’s basketball coach Corey Symons — coached nearby.

“I’m so grateful to play here and train here,” Madi Symons said. “I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember, and even sleeping in the bleachers. Playing my last high school game in the gym that made me the player that I was really cool.”

Symons, who has signed with Wyoming, finished with 10 points for the Region.

“It was super fun to play with everyone that I really didn’t know before,” Symons said. “There’s a lot of really talented players in Idaho and I was happy to get to play with them. Having both my mom (Coeur d’Alene High coach Nicole Symons) coaching and my dad running it was really special because a lot of the time they’re behind the scenes of things. They’ve made me the player and person I am. To play in a game they were involved in was really special.”

Capri Sims of Post Falls, who has signed with Division II Central Washington University in Ellensburg, scored seven points for the Region.

“It was fun,” Sims said. “I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into today. But it was a fun, competitive game.”

Metro 14 24 31 15 — 84

Region 19 14 20 27 — 80

METRO — Brielle Magnuson (Rocky Mountain) 2, Keylee Wilson (Melba) 7, Hallie Arnold (Melba) 10, Kendall Clark (Melba) 13, Zoe Archibald (Rocky Mountain) 9, Shaelyn Olson (Greenleaf Friends) 3, Caroline Knothe (Bishop Kelly) 6, Addie Hiler (Bishop Kelly) 17, Mattie Shirts (Weiser) 8, Gracie Castillo (Garden Valley) 2, Lauren McCall (Timberline) 6.

REGION — Kelsey Cessna (Sandpoint) 10, Marley Spencer (Thunder Ridge) 8, Kristen Wemhoff (Prairie) 6, Josalyn Bailey (Filer) 4, Madi Symons (Coeur d’Alene) 10, Kennedy Gillette (Sugar-Salem) 11, Maddie Keener (Mountain Home) 0, Madison Andreason (Ririe) 11, Hailey Astle (Dietrich) 2, Tara Schlader (Prairie) 1, Capri Sims (Post Falls) 7, Lauren Gould (Lapwai) 2, Brooke Cook (Hillcrest) 8.