STATE 5A CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP: Lake City bounces back again, takes consolation title

NAMPA — For Lake City, which returned two players from last year’s unbeaten state 5A championship team, it was big.

Not just getting back to state, but battling back, then bouncing back — going 5-0 in loser-out games in the last two weeks — to bring back a trophy.

Junior guard Cason Miller had 18 points for the seventh-seeded Timberwolves, who outscored the fifth-seeded Capital Eagles of Boise in the state consolation championship game at Ridgevue High on Saturday.

“It’s huge for us,” said first-year Lake City boys coach James Anderson, who took over the program after coaching the girls program for the previous six years. “For our kids to come back, and we start a player in each class, with a whole new staff, it just shows their resilience. Coming into this season, we didn’t have that experience.”

Lake City fell in Thursday’s state opener to district rival Coeur d’Alene, then beat Eagle 70-65 to advance. 

“After we lost on Thursday, I told our guys we can treat this as the first two games of next season,” Anderson said. “We wanted to set the tone for next year, and how that’s going to look with only losing one senior (Braydn Arrieta), and Braydn’s going to be a huge part of this program going forward and what we do next. He coaches up the younger guys and stays late to help when we need.”

Miller gave Lake City its first lead of the game with a 3-pointer early in the third quarter at 36-34, then beat the buzzer on another 3 to make it 51-49 Timberwolves after the third quarter.

“Cason was phenomenal today,” Anderson said. “His close of the season has been top notch and how he’s handled the ball, it’s been an adjustment, but I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Miller finished with 120 assists this season, third most in school history. 

Junior Reese Strawn, who finished with 17 points and six assists, finished the season with a school record 134 assists this season for Lake City, breaking the previous mark of Kolton Mitchell set last year (127).

“Reese, he’s an incredible scorer,” Anderson said. “But when he’s in the paint and spraying the ball around, we’re tough to beat. The second you lose vision on him, he finds Cason, or Bradyn or Jordan (Carlson). Reese didn’t shoot great in the tournament, but he made the adjustments to impact the game. He’s just an incredible basketball player.”

Carlson, a 6-foot-6 freshman post, hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining to give Lake City a 63-59 lead. 

“Jordan’s got a soft shot, and I knew it was going to hit the rim,” Anderson said. “We got some lucky bounces in the end.”

Mekhi Dorrell scored 16 points for Capital, which led 23-15 after the first quarter.

“They’re super athletic and can shoot it,” Anderson said. “It felt like they came out and punched us in the mouth, and with a young team, we could have backed down. I thought they’d cool off eventually, but they’ve got so many options. They’re a real challenge.”

Lake City    15    12    24    15    —    66

Capital        23    9    17    10    —    59

LAKE CITY — Winey 0, Strawn 17, Miller 18, Watson 10, Kloos 1, Arrieta 6, Williams 0, Carlson 14. Totals 24-51 6-11 66.

CAPITAL — Muktar 5, Everhart 0, Lowe 3, Ahmed 2, McNamara 11, Telleria 9, Call 16, Talaso 6, Clay 7. Totals 23-58 5-13 59.

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lake City freshman post Jordan Carlson drives the basket during the second half of Saturday's state 5A consolation championship game at Ridgevue High in Nampa.