THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Prep boys basketball rivals Lakeside, Lapwai come together in hoops… and in song

A song was sung prior to the Lakeside-Lapwai game for the state 1A Division 1 boys basketball championship recently, which is not unusual.

This song, however, was different.

Members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, representing Lakeside High of Plummer-Worley, and the Nez Perce Tribe, representing Lapwai, came together on the floor of the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa and sang the flag song of the Nez Perce Tribe.

Each tribe has its own “flag song,” or anthem.

“It was cool; it was awesome,” Lakeside boys basketball coach James Twoteeth said after the game, won by Lapwai 67-54. “Even last year, two native teams making it (to the championship), that doesn’t happen very often. And to be a part of that … 

“We’re so close together; Plummer is just up the road from Lapwai. We see their community every other week, at festivities and stuff.”

With tribes that close, each knows the other’s flag songs, so it was easy for folks from both tribes to come together and sing the Nez Perce Tribe’s flag song.

“It was cool for everyone to see our culture, they understand where we’re coming from, and the way we are, and the way we’re so close,” Lapwai boys basketball coach Zach Eastman said. “Music, I feel, brings everyone together. You might not know it, but you’ll listen and you might learn something from it. And you get a little more respect from it.”

IT WAS the second straight year Lakeside and Lapwai met in the state title game — and the results couldn’t have been more different.

In 2023, Lakeside stunned Lapwai by jumping out to a 23-point lead, then holding on for an 81-79 victory in overtime. Lakeside’s win snapped a 62-game win streak by Lapwai, and denied the Wildcats a third straight state title.

In the rematch on March 2, Lapwai jumped on Lakeside early, leading by 17 at halftime and by 22 early in the third quarter, before settling for the 13-point win.

It was the 13th state title for the storied Lapwai program, tying the Wildcats with Borah of Boise for the most in state history. 

“In Lapwai, we live and breathe basketball, man,” said Lapwai star Kase Wynott, who became the state’s all-time leading scorer earlier in the season. The Utah State-bound Wynott scored 46 points in the title game. “And just every time we win a state championship we have a big parade. We’re going to have a big parade waiting for us. It’s awesome.”

(A few days later, a video with fireworks from the parade was posted on social media).

Lakeside has won three state titles in school history. Twoteeth played on the Knights’ 1997 state title team, and coached them to championships in 2020 and ’23.

“They live basketball, so when they lose, they take that to heart,” Lakeside senior point guard Brutis SiJohn said. “They were up every morning and after school, playing basketball, preparing for this. We weren’t up every morning.”

“It’s motivating; they had an undefeated season and they lost their last game, so that’s got to hurt,” Twoteeth recalled of last year’s title game. “It motivated (Lapwai) all year, all summer long. So they were going to come back with fire. I tried to tell these guys that, the second time around, they’re going to be ready for us.”

SHORTLY AFTER last year’s state tournament, players from Lakeside and Lapwai teamed up to play in a Native American tournament.

“They have their rivals, but at the end of the day, there’s a lot of friendships out there,” Eastman said. “Basketball is all about competition, and we let our game speak for ourselves, and now we move on, and they’re still part of our friendships. We’re still all one family together.”

How focused was Lapwai on beating Lakeside this season?

Eastman made it a point not to schedule Lakeside during the season.

In 2022-23, Lakeside played at Lapwai and gave the Wildcats one of their toughest tests of the season before falling, but took that confidence into the rematch in the state title game.

This season?

“We knew that we were going to see them at state, so why show them everything now (in a regular-season game)?,” Eastman said. “Let’s wait till the end, and we can play them there.”

Lapwai was pulling for Lakeside to beat Potlatch in the semifinals, because the Wildcats wanted another shot at the Knights. Plus, Lapwai had beaten Potlatch three times this season already; the last two relatively close games.

“We wanted Lakeside,” Eastman said. “I think it’s harder to beat a team three or four times, because they know a lot of your stuff. And you can only do so many defensive adjustments as a coach.

“And that’s why with Lakeside, I wanted it to be a clean slate for both of us. We went to a bunch of their games, we scouted them a bunch. Every game we saw every adjustment they made. We watched film every day on those guys … we started our scouting report in December.”

For most of the season, the rankings had Lapwai at No. 1, Potlatch at No. 2, and Lakeside, the defending champ with four starters back, at No. 3.

Eastman didn’t see it that way. 

“We knew that we lost to them (last year),” he said of Lakeside. “To me, they were No. 1; that’s how I looked at it. I looked at us as No. 2; we have to go beat the champ. 

“They were the champs then; we’re the champs now.”

WILL THIS rivalry continue? If so, it will have to be carried by a lot of younger kids who weren’t a part of the last two championship games.

All of Lapwai’s 67 points in this year’s title game were scored by seniors. Lakeside will return the MVP of the Scenic Idaho Conference in sophomore Tyson Charley, but the Knights graduate four seniors.

Either way, there’s a healthy respect between Lakeside and Lapwai that was kinda cool to watch the past couple of years — the "storied" program vs. the "other" Native program that is pretty good at hoops too.

“When you lose to somebody, you respect them at the end of the day,” Eastman said. “We’re very different coaches; I’m more animated and loud, and he (Twoteeth) is very reserved. So it’s really cool to see the difference between the two teams. But at the end of the day, we’re both really competitive. And that’s what it’s all about, being competitive.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.

    MARK NELKE/Press Players from Lakeside (red uniforms) and Lapwai congratulate each other at the end of the state 1A Division 1 high school boys basketball championship game March 2 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.