NAMPA - The idea that the Post Falls Trojans are a flashy, offensive-minded unit is so two years ago.

This year's Trojans don't mind getting in your face and making you miss shots - and that grit has carried them to the state title game for the second time in three seasons.

Playing a sticky man-to-man defense, Post Falls held Mountain View of Meridian to 22 percent shooting in the first half - 34 percent for the game - in grinding out a 52-40 victory in the semifinals of the state 5A boys basketball tournament Friday night at the Idaho Center.

"Coming down here, people think of Post Falls basketball as this high-octane offense, because of the things we've done in the past," Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. "This year, I think we can score pretty well, but the thing that has been carrying us all year is our defense."

Post Falls (21-3), ranked No. 2 in 5A, will play Borah (24-1), ranked No. 1, in the state title game tonight at 7 PST. Post Falls won the state title in 2010.

Taylor Valente shined on defense for Post Falls, and Valente and Seth Anderson stepped up on offense when the Trojans needed it in the first half. And, for the second night in a row, point guard Marcus Colbert took over the game late. He scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 6:37 to help the Trojans keep Mountain View (17-8), the defending state champs, at bay.

"Colbert, he knows when it's time to get a bucket," Mountain View coach Jon Nettleton said. "He takes it to the hole. It's hard to tell kids what to expect when you've never guarded something like that, and then when you see it live ... "

In addition to hounding Mountain View into a ton of missed shots inside, Post Falls particularly focused on stopping Tanner Percifield, Mountain View’s second-leading scorer at 11 points per game. With senior Taylor Valente guarding him, Percifield managed just three points on 1-of-10 shooting.

“Just not let him catch the ball,” Valente said of his game plan on Percifield.

Brandon Luedtke led Mountain View with 18 points and 13 rebounds. But no one else scored for the Mavericks until the final two minutes of the first half, and Mountain View had just six points in the first 14 minutes of the game.

“Defensively, I don’t think you can play much better than we did for three quarters,” McLean said.

“Our conference, that’s the kind of defense we see every night,” Nettleton said. “I’m not saying that it wasn’t good, it’s just we’ve seen it. We just missed some shots but, you know what, they defended well. They played hard, they’re a great defensive team, and it showed the first half, because we couldn’t get a bucket.”

Early on, Mountain View tried a variety of gimmick defenses to take Colbert away. But Valente and Anderson, in particular, stepped up. Valente, mostly on baseline jumpers, scored six of his 10 points in the first half, and Anderson scored six of his eight before intermission.

“People try to box-and-one Marcus all the time,” Valente said. “In practice we practice that, and I step up and make my shots. And so I just took my shots.”

Post Falls took control with an 11-0 run in the first half, holding Mountain View scoreless for more than seven minutes. Valente hit three jumpers in that stretch, and also fed Anderson for a jumper from the right baseline.

“I thought that was key,” McLean said. “We anticipated Mountain View using some kind of gimmick defense, we were ready for it. In our own league (we see gimmick defenses), so what we try to do is get our guys in positions for shots that we feel comfortable. Valente, he’s thought of as our defensive specialist, but that 12 to 15-foot range, that’s right in his wheelhouse, and I’m very comfortable with him shooting that. It doesn’t take a coaching genius to realize that teams are going to try to shut down Marcus, so we’ve seen a little bit of everything. Mountain View’s defense was just something that we’ve seen before, and that helped us.”

Post Falls led 35-21 early in the fourth quarter, but Mountain View pulled within 39-33 with four minutes left. Post Falls answered with a pair of quick baskets, as Anderson fed reserve Corey Koski for a layup, and Colbert scored on the drive and the Trojans were back in control.

“We expect him (Colbert) to hit the big shot, and when we need one, he hits one,” Valente said. “It’s a huge confidence boost for our team.”

Luke Thoreson added 10 points and five rebounds for Post Falls, including 3 of 4 free throws in the closing minutes on a night where the teams combined to go 8 of 23 from the line. Anderson and Colbert each grabbed nine rebounds, and Anderson had three assists.

Borah, which is riding a 22-game winning streak, beat Post Falls last year in the first round at state. McLean said much of the attention will be on Colbert and Borah’s sophomore point guard, Isaiah Wright, but “I think the key is the other players, maybe the third, fourth, fifth option,” he said. “Which of those guys is going to be the guy that does it.”

Mountain View 4 6 11 19 — 40

Post Falls 10 13 10 19 — 52

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Moore 0, Luedtke 18, Percifield 3, Stewart 6, Trube 0, Stiles 0, Robinson 8, Delie 0, Wilkes 0, Slocum 2, Anderson 3, Curtis 0. Totals 17-50 3-10 40.

POST FALLS — Anderson 8, Valente 10, Thoreson 10, Colbert 16, Benner 0, Hillman 6, Koski 2. Totals 23-44 5-13 52.