5A REGION 1 BOYS BASKETBALL: Lake City holds off Post Falls, advances to play-in
MARK NELKE/Press Lake City senior Braydn Arrieta launches a 3-pointer against Post Falls in the first half of the 5A Region 1 second-place game Thursday at Lake City.
MARK NELKE/Press Post Falls senior Alex Shields puts up a shot as Jordan Carlson, left, and Carter Kloos of Lake City defend in the 5A Region 1 second-place game Thursday at Lake City.
COEUR d’ALENE — Junior Reese Strawn hit a 3-pointer to give second-seeded Lake City the lead for good with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Freshman Jordan Carlson made sure the home team kept the momentum moving forward.
Carlson, a 6-foot-6 post, tipped in a basket at the third-quarter buzzer as the Timberwolves went on to hold off the third-seeded Post Falls Trojans 61-56 in the 5A Region 1 second-place game on Thursday at Lake City High.
Lake City (15-9) will face Centennial (16-9) of Boise in a state play-in game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Grangeville High.
Carlson and Strawn each finished with 16 points for Lake City, which lost at home to Post Falls 72-59 last Friday in the opening round of regionals.
“We made some big plays tonight,” first-year Lake City coach James Anderson said. “But we defended really well and did a much better job of guarding them. It was the best we’ve played against them this year. We wanted to protect the paint and tried to get some different looks. Carter (Kloos, a 6-5 forward) really bought us enough defensive possessions to pull this one out.”
Sophomore Connor Carver scored 15 points for Post Falls, which led 26-24 at halftime.
“They came out with way more urgency than we did for whatever reason,” said Anderson, whose team trailed 6-0 early in the first quarter. “It took us a while to find our flow offensively. We just struggled to find shots and they put us through a lot to find some looks tonight.”
Post Falls was aiming for its first trip to state since 2020.
Post Falls 12 14 13 17 — 56
Lake City 9 15 20 17 — 61
POST FALLS — Lysne 3, McLean 10, McCarthy 10, Cameron 2, McKeown 0, Carver 15, Blake 6, Shields 10.
LAKE CITY — Winey 2, Strawn 16, Miller 14, Watson 8, Kloos 0, Arrieta 5, Williams 0, Carlson 16.
MARK NELKE/Press Post Falls senior Alex Shields puts up a shot as Jordan Carlson, left, and Carter Kloos of Lake City defend in the 5A Region 1 second-place game Thursday at Lake City.