STATE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Lakeside flying under the radar as defending state 1A Division I champs

1A DIVISION I

They return nearly everyone from last year’s team that won a state title for the second time in four seasons.

So why is hardly anybody talking about the Lakeside Knights as the favorites, as the state 1A Division I boys basketball tournament begins today?

Maybe it’s because Lapwai still boasts Kase Wynott, who became the career scoring leader in Idaho high school basketball earlier this season. He has help, of course, and the Lapwai name carries considerable clout in Idaho hoops circles.

However, it was Lakeside which stunned mighty Lapwai in last year’s state title game, snapping the Wildcats’ 62-game winning streak.

This year, Lakeside and Lapwai are again on opposites of the bracket, setting up a potential title-game rematch on Saturday.

“I think we’re pretty confident,” seventh-year Lakeside coach James Twoteeth said. 

Lakeside (15-3) is the third seed, and opens vs. sixth-seed Liberty Charter (19-5) tonight at 6 at Vallivue High in Caldwell.

Gone is Vander Brown, Lakeside’s heart and soul for much of the past four seasons, now redshirting at North Idaho College.

But others have stepped up this year — and, truth be told, they stepped up last year at times, when Brown was on the bench in foul trouble. 

One in particular is Brutis SiJohn, Lakeside’s senior point guard, who averages 12.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.9 steals per game.

“I think he’s too unselfish at times,” Twoteeth said. “I have to (tell) him, ‘You have to shoot. If you have a good game, have 18, 19 points, we’re unstoppable. And you saw it (last Thursday; in the district title game victory over Genesis Prep) in the first half; he was really taking it to the basket. I said ‘You can do that any time you want.’ He’s just too unselfish. He likes to pass, he likes to get that assist.”

Of course, that works on this team, where there are plenty of other scorers.

Like sophomore Tyson Charley (20.7 points per game, 6.1 assists, 5.3 steals), senior Liam Hendrickx (13.8 ppg) and senior Blaze Callahan (11.7 ppg, 3.4 assists).

And there’s also senior Josh Kee, who did not play last year after playing key minutes as a sophomore.

Lakeside is averaging 81 points per game, and winning by an average of 36. The Knights’ smallest margin of victory was 13 points (the next smallest margin was 23 points), and of their three losses, two were to Bonners Ferry, last year’s state 3A runner-up, by 8 and 11 points.

Lakeside is at state for the fourth time in five years under Twoteeth, who played on the Knights’ first state title team in 1997, and has coached them to their other two.

Notes: Wynott, who has signed with Utah State, is averaging 35.9 points, 14.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. He scored 40 in last year’s 81-79 overtime loss to Lakeside … senior forward Ahlius Yearout averages 17.3 points per game for Lapwai, which has won 12 state titles, second-most all time behind Borah (13) of Boise … Lakeside could see Potlatch for the second straight year, this time in the semifinals. The Knights rolled 68-44 over the Loggers last year in the first round. Potlatch, the No. 2 seed this year, returns most of last year’s crew as well. … Liberty Charter is at state for the 12th time in 13 seasons, but has never won a trophy at state. Senior point guard Luke Thomas averages 15.4 points per game, and senior post Luke Starner averages 14.4 … Butte County senior guard Brody Westergard (17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals) was the 1A Division I All-Idaho Football Player of the Year. 

2A

St. Maries has a pretty remarkable streak going.

Not only are the Lumberjacks at state for the 10th straight season, all under 10th-year head coach Bryan Chase, but they have won their first-round game in each of the nine previous trips.

That streak will be tested today, when eighth-seeded St. Maries (15-7) takes on top-seeded Cole Valley Christian (23-2) of Meridian at 1 p.m. PST in the first round at Capital High in Boise.

The Lumberjacks, who last week won their 10th straight district title, returned just two seniors, post Wyatt Holmes (11.5 ppg, 7.7 rebounds) and guard Seth Swallows (9.8 points, 44 3-pointers). Swallows has signed to play golf at Community Colleges of Spokane. But several sophomores have stepped up, including JJ Yearout (11.6 ppg, 2.7 steals), Xavier Sloper (8.3 ppg) and point guard Jack Barta.

"We've had a lot of good teams with a lot of talent," said Chase, whose team was 2-5 after seven games this season. "This one, it was a lot of work in practice getting better. It took a lot of practices and a lot of team meetings. We've had a lot of development throughout the season with these guys."

St. Maries won 13 of its last 15 games, capped by a 63-50 win in the District 1-2 championship game.

"To be honest, we didn't want to focus on wins and losses, and just wanted to get better," Chase said. "We just wanted to keep working hard. We knew that the results would come with hard work, and that's what happened. We've had eight different guys scoring for us each night, and staying healthy has helped as well."

Early, St. Maries lost to Kendrick and Potlatch, who are also at state in other classifications.

"It wasn't like we were losing bad," Chase said. "But sometimes, losing can become a habit and these guys really put the work in to get better."

St. Maries beat Kellogg in the third-place game at state last year, and played for the state title in 2019, ‘21 and ‘22. In 2021, the Lumberjacks won their second state title, and first since 1960.

Notes: Cole Valley, which won the consolation title last year, is led by senior guard Eli Kngery (16 points, 6.6 rebounds). The Chargers beat Orofino by 41 points in a state play-in game last week.

5A

Coeur d’Alene (20-3), at state for the first time since 2012, might be the least-talked-about No. 2 seed in recent memory. 

Most of the pre-tournament hype has been directed at Owyhee (21-3) of Meridian, and deservedly so, and what hype is left has gone the way of fourth seed Madison (22-2) of Rexburg, and third seed Timberline (20-4) of Boise, which played Owyhee tough in the district title game last week.

Coeur d’Alene opens against city rival and seventh seed Lake City (16-9) today at 4 p.m. at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

Owyhee, which opened in 2021, returns five starters, including the team’s lone senior, Liam Campbell (17.3 points), who has signed with USC, and junior Jackson Rasmussen (14.4 points, 6.5 rebounds. 1.5 blocked shots). And the Storm brought in a pair of impact transfers, sophomore guard Logan Haustveit (8.5 points, 2.2 assists) from nearby Mountain View, and junior guard Boden Howell from South Medford (Ore.).

But in the first two years that Idaho state tourneys were seeded by MaxPreps rankings, the top-seeded team has been upset in the first round — Lake City in 2022, and Owyhee last year.

Notes: Madison’s only losses came to Owyhee and Corona Centennial of California at a tournament at Owyhee in December. The Bobcats were one of the few teams to play Lake City close last year, losing by nine in the semifinals. And much of that team is back, including junior guard Nash Humpherys (19.7 points, 4.6 assists, 3.0 steals), who hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 against the Timberwolves last year, and senior forward Berrett Wilson (16.2 points, 6.1 rebounds), who scored 14 against Lake City.

4A

Sandpoint is at state for the first time since 2009, when the Bulldogs won a game at state for first time since 1966. Sandpoint (12-12), the eighth seed, opens vs. top-seeded Pocatello (19-5) today at 1 p.m. PST at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian. 

Parker Childs (15.1 ppg, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals) is the son of Sandpoint head coach Brian Childs, and junior Emerik Jones (15.3 ppg, 6.6 rebounds), freshman Derrick Chamberlain (9.4 ppg, 6.4 rebounds) and sophomore Logan Roos (7.3 ppg) have emerged as scoring options this season.

Pocatello finished second at state the last two years, and features Boise State signee Julian Bowie, the reigning 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year. 

Notes: On the other side of the bracket, Hillcrest (17-6) is the two-time defending state champion, led by center Isaac Davis (14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds), a BYU signee. 

Most folks are predicting a Pokey-Hillcrest matchup in the finals for the third straight year.

Twin Falls is coached by Mac Stannard, the former Moscow High star.

3A

Bonners Ferry’s bid for its first state title in program history begins today when the second-seeded Badgers (19-3) take on seventh seed Kimberly (16-8) at 4 p.m. PST at Meridian High.

Bonners Ferry lost to Sugar-Salem last year in its first appearance in a title game. Sugar-Salem didn’t qualify for state this year.

Snake River (21-2) is the top seed, and the Badgers beat them 55-54 in the semifinals last year. 

Bonners junior guard Asher Williams is the reigning 3A All-Idaho Player of the Year. Cousins Thomas Bateman (junior guard) and Trey Bateman (senior forward) were key players last year as well. 

The Badgers’ only losses this year were to Coeur d’Alene, Lake City and West Valley, and Bonners brings a 13-game win streak into state.

Notes: Snake River is led by senior guard Luke Higginson (21.4 points) junior post Marcus Coombs (18.6 points, 7.8 rebounds).

1A DIVISION II

Clark Fork (13-6), at state for the second straight year and third time in four years, is the eighth seed, opening vs. No. 1 Camas County (20-3) today at 1 p.m. PST at Caldwell High. 

Notes: Camas County lost to Rockland in the 2022 state title game, and did not qualify last year.