STATE 1A DIVISION I BOYS BASKETBALL: Lakeside makes big plays late, fends off Liberty Charter

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

CALDWELL — The Lakeside Knights did the math and figured their first-round game Thursday would be a breeze.

It turned out to be anything but easy.

The sixth seed Liberty Charter Patriots of Nampa gave the defending state champion Knights all they could handle for most of the game, before third-seeded Lakeside scored the game’s last seven points for a 60-51 victory at Vallivue High.

“We were checking MaxPreps and saw they only beat Riverstone by six, and in the play-in game we just beat Riverstone by 46,” Lakeside senior guard Brutis SiJohn said. “So we thought … I don’t know, we probably didn’t prepare as much as we should have.”

“This group … they just think, ‘Oh, we won it last year, we can just show up,” Knights coach James Twoteeth said. “I keep having to remind them, you have to show up and play. When you get to the state tournament the atmosphere can get crazy, and they can shoot out of their mind, like they did tonight. Anything can happen.”

Lakeside (17-3) will face second-seeded Potlatch (19-5) in the semifinals tonight at 7 PST. Potlatch defeated No. 7 Valley of Hazelton 54-42.

Sophomore Tyson Charley had 24 points and seven rebounds for Lakeside, and senior Liam Hendrickx added 11 points and six boards.

Lakeside held a slim lead throughout the second half, but could never pull away. Senior Luke Starner scored 13 of his 18 points after intermission for Liberty Charter (19-6), and senior Luke Thomas added 14.

SiJohn finished with eight points, nine rebounds and five steals. Several of those thefts came in the fourth quarter, none bigger than when he picked a Liberty Charter player in the backcourt and scored for a 57-51 lead with just under 2 minutes left.

“We needed something to boost us, and it started on defense,” SiJohn said. “That’s how we play, then we get out and run. We just had to get a couple steals.”

“He loves playing defense,” Twoteeth said of SiJohn. “It’s like making a shot to somebody offensive (minded). When they make a shot, they start playing better. When he plays defense, and gets a couple of steals, then he starts getting into the game. That’s just Brutis.”

Liberty Charter got as close as 51-50 with just over 5 minutes remaining, and had several chances to take the lead, but Lakeside buckled down on defense in crunch time.

“We can grind it out and win a close ballgame,” Twoteeth said.

Lakeside beat Potlatch 68-44 in the first round last year, but SiJohn said the Knights won’t overlook the Loggers tonight, with a possible rematch with Lapwai in the finals on Saturday.

“We’re not worried about last year. We’re a whole new team this year,” SiJohn said.

Liberty Charter    11    16    15    9    —    51

Lakeside     15    16    14    15    —    60

LIBERTY CHARTER — Camarillo 0, Schlenker 2, Thomas 14, Neagu 0, Johnson 8, Roskam 9, Starner 18. Totals 20-52 4-8 51.

LAKESIDE — Peone 3, SiJohn 8, Callahan 5, Hendrickx 11, Hall 4, Kee 5, Charley 24. Totals 24-29 8-10 60.