NAMPA - The Post Falls Trojans couldn't have played much better defense than they did in the first quarter Thursday night, holding the Mountain View Mavericks to two points.

And, actually, allowing 44 points for a game isn't a bad effort either.

But the offensive woes that have plagued Post Falls at times this season resurfaced in the first round of the state 5A boys basketball tournament, and the Trojans fell 44-34 at the Idaho Center.

"I was happy in the first half with our defensive effort," Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. "We knew coming in that Mountain View was one of those high-scoring offenses down here, and they're going to run a thousand screens, and you have to be disciplined on defense. I was very proud of my guys as far as being as disciplined as we were. Mountain View usually breaks teams down after four or five passes, and I thought they had some 10-, 11-, 12-pass possessions, and we stayed home and defended them to the best of our ability.

"What happened tonight was what has happened with our season lots of times. In the second quarter, we got some pretty good looks and the ball didn't go in. In fact, throughout most of the game, we had some looks in the lane that we want, and didn't go in. It's something that we've been battling all year."

Post Falls (11-14) will play Madison (15-10) of Rexburg today at 2 p.m. PST in a loser-out game. Madison lost to defending champion Borah of Boise 54-43.

Junior guard Nick Hall scored 13 points off the bench to lead Post Falls. He had both of the Trojans’ baskets in the first half. Hall finished 5 of 10 from the field, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range. But the rest of the team was 7 of 31 from the field.

“The second quarter we didn’t score at all — I thought that was a major setback,” Hall said. “I think if we would have scored at least a few points there, we would have had a little more momentum.”

Hall scored five points in the first quarter, which saw Mountain View go 1 for 11 from the field. But Post Falls went 0 for 8 from the field in the second quarter, 0 for 2 from the line, and Mountain View (19-5) found a way to get to the basket and scored 13 points to lead 15-7 at halftime.

Mountain View led 26-16 late in the third quarter before Keaton Corr and Max McCullough hit 3-pointers for Post Falls. McCullough nailed another 3 from the top of the key early in the fourth quarter to pull the Trojans within 26-25.

But Post Falls went nearly six minutes until scoring its next point.

Tanner Percifield, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half for Mountain View. He hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:51, once the Trojans had to foul.

“I’m very proud of my guys; we didn’t lay down and die,” McLean said. “We talked about representing the IEL and representing the North, and not just lay down and go ‘poor us’ and quit.”

Post Falls was 7 for 17 from 3-point range, but just 5 for 24 from 2-point range. Mountain View was 2 for 16 on 3s and largely more successful close to the basket, going 13 for 25 on 2s.

“Our defense, by far, kept us in the game,” Mountain View coach Jon Nettleton said. “We weathered the storm. When was the last time you saw somebody hold a team to zero (in a quarter) in a boys basketball game — let alone at state? I had to spin it somehow, and I told the kids it was a phenomenal job defensively.”

Post Falls is playing at state for the fifth straight year, albeit with a largely new group even compared to last year’s state runners-up. Still, the Trojans are determined to bring home some hardware.

“We may not have the offensive firepower we’ve had in the past, but I think defensively, we’ve got guys who are as skilled defensively as we’ve had in the past,” McLean said. “We’re just grinders; we get after it and we play hard. Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about bouncing back. The guys in the locker room are disappointed, but they’re all holding their heads high because there’s no reason to feel sorry for yourself if you gave all you had. And every one of those guys gave all they had tonight.”

“We can still win a trophy — get some hardware here,” Hall said.

Post Falls 7 0 15 12 — 34

Mountain View 2 13 11 18 — 44

POST FALLS — Hall 13, McKeown 0, Davenport 2, Pfennigs 0, Jackson 3, Hillman 0, Mueller 0, McCullough 6, Thompson 2, Corr 6, Koski 2. Totals 12-41 3-6 34.

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Percifield 24, Ball 0, Slocum 0, Robinson 7, Egner 0, Trube 4, Olson 9, Secrist 0. Totals 15-41 12-14. 44.