PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Post Falls, St. Maries fall in state play-ins ... Coeur du Christ qualifies for state in first season as full member of IHSAA

COTTONWOOD — A combination of missed inside shots, illness and a physical Timberline team brought an end to the Post Falls boys basketball season Saturday — and with it, the 18-year head coaching career of Mike McLean at his alma mater. 

“We would work hard, miss a layup, and they could come down and hit a 3,” McLean said after the Wolves of Boise defeated the Trojans 57-35 in a state 6A play-in game at Prairie High. 

Collin Morris came off the bench and hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 15 points for Timberline (16-10), which advances to state beginning Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. 

Sophomore Cashton Bodman scored 12 points, junior Jaxon Lysne 10 for Post Falls, which finished 15-9. 

Two of the Trojans’ top seven players were under the weather, including junior post Connor Carver (pneumonia), who started but had to come out after less than 2 minutes. 

"Some people outside of program might have thought we overachieved, but for me, this was one of my top 2-3 teams in terms of grit,” McLean said. “I’m very, very proud of this group.” 

Post Falls trailed 30-23 late in the third quarter before Timberline, which played in the state title game last year, closed the quarter on a 13-0 run. 

“I was really impressed with their physicality, and that physicality really affected us,” McLean said. “I thought going in they were the second-best team in Boise; very well coached, very prepared.” 

McLean finished 289-154 in 18 seasons at Post Falls, with 11 trips to state and two state titles. 

Timberline    14    16    13    14    —    57 

Post Falls     9    10    4    12    —    35 

TIMBERLINE — Hudson 11, Huegerich 4, Heyne 10, Heinz 7, Focarile 0, Ko 10, Morris 15. 

POST FALLS — Naylor 0, Ostlund 0, McLean 6, Lysne 10, Cameron 2, Bodman 12, Carver 0, Blake 5, McKeown 0, Dean 0. 

Marsing 56 

St. Maries 51 

COTTONWOOD — The Lumberjacks fought back from a 13-point deficit in the first half to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but a turnover led to the Huskies’ go-ahead basket and St. Maries eventually fell in a state 2A play-in game at Prairie High. 

The loss ended a run of 10 straight trips to state for the Lumberjacks. 

“We didn’t play our best basketball, unfortunately," St. Maries coach Brian Chase said. "We didn’t take care of the ball; when we’ve lost that was our nemesis —  too many turnovers. The stat I saw was Marsing had 16 points on our 19 turnovers.” 

Junior Juan Ponce scored 29 points for Marsing (12-11), which advances to the state 2A tournament at Capital High in Boise, beginning Thursday. 

After a 3 from Jaxson Harold and an inside basket by Isaiah Gustaffe of St. Maries tied the game at 51, Ponce stole a pass and drove to the other end for the go-ahead layup. 

Gustaffe, a junior, led St. Maries (12-11) with 16 points. Sophomore Marcus Speakman, brought up from the junior varsity late in the season, had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Junior JJ Yearout scored 12. 

Marsing     14    18    13    11    -- 56 

St. Maries    11    12    12    16    --    51 

MARSING — Montes 5, Chadez 12, Ponce 29, McFarland 0, Kinney 4, Bowers 1, Aristizbal 5. 

ST. MARIES — Harold 3, Garcia 0, J. Barta 2, Yearout 12, Gustaffe 16, B. Barta 0, L. Riberich 6, Defoort 0, Speakman 12, T. Riberich 0. 

Coeur du Christ 54

Deary 42

POST FALLS — There’s a first time for everything. 

And for the Coeur du Christ Saints, in their first season as a full member of the Idaho High School Activities Association, they added another first on Saturday afternoon. 

First state berth. 

Senior Ben Connelly scored 28 points for the Saints, who beat the Mustangs in a play-in game at Post Falls High to advance to the state 1A tournament this week.

Coeur du Christ (14-8) is a projected eighth seed in the tournament, which begins on Thursday at Caldwell High. Final tournament seedings and matchups will be announced today.

“I told the team at the beginning of the year, and if you would have seen our first day of practice, we were lacking a lot,” Coeur du Christ coach Chris Kiefer said. “This season, it’s all been fundamentals and form shooting, ball handling and hammering the core principals of basketball. Now, everything is starting to come together like you want it to. Just getting to the playoffs was a victory, and the rest is gravy now.” 

Junior Jerome Cools added 11 points for Coeur du Christ. 

Coeur du Christ beat Kootenai on Thursday in the District 1 championship game to advance to the play-in. Deary cut the deficit to 43-42 with 2:02 remaining before the Saints closed the game on an 11-0 run. 

“At the end of the season, this is what it’s all about,” Kiefer said. “You don’t want to be playing an easy team. It’s fun to be challenged. Deary was aggressive and working super hard and we had to make some adjustments in the second half.” 

Sophomore Blake Clark scored 13 points for Deary, which finished 13-12. 

“They put it to us in the third quarter,” Kiefer said. “I’m proud of how the guys worked to finish the game strong.” 

Deary            8    4    15    15    —    42 

Coeur du Christ        13    15    8    18    —    54 

DEARY — Beyer 7, Vincent 3, Hubbard 0, Meechling 9, Clark 13, Keen 10. 

COEUR du CHRIST — Clemens 9, Connelly 28, Clute 0, Hayes 4, Je. Cools 11, O’Neill 2, Denke 0. 

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur du Christ senior Ben Connelly drives to the basket as Deary's Jacob Mechling defends during the fourth quarter of Saturday's state 1A boys basketball play-in game at Post Falls High.