A fog settled over the Treasure Valley on Thursday, lasting well into Friday.

And no, we're not talking about the fog the District 1 teams were in at this week's state boys basketball tournaments, though we could have been.

Lake City, Post Falls, Timberlake and Kootenai each went two and out at state. And while some of those teams played better than others, as they say on that ESPN show, the numbers don't lie - 0 for 8.

Lake City went down with perhaps the loftiest of expectations. But the Timberwolves were blown out 61-33 by Rocky Mountain of Meridian, then played better the second day, but still came up short, 54-46 to Capital of Boise.

The Timberwolves left the Idaho Center on Friday afternoon already determined to do better next year.

"There's no days off in the offseason," Lake City junior forward Kyle Guice said. "We're starting right when we get back. We're not letting this happen again next year."

This was Lake City's first trip to state since 2010, so none of these players had played at state.

"We just mentioned to them (after the Timberwolves were eliminated) that you can't get so wrapped up and want it so much that you don't allow yourself to play," Lake City coach Jim Winger said. "Deep down, you've got to believe that you have to have a little sense of arrogance to you, and I'm not sure that that came out. We came into this, I thought, with all of those ingredients, and it did not come through (at state)."

* Post Falls did not make any excuses for its shooting issues - the Trojans tried to make up for it with tough defense. The Trojans went 26 of 79 (32.9 percent) from the field at state, and were shut out in one quarter - against Mountain View of Meridian, in the second quarter of the first round.

Post Falls coach Mike McLean said shooting will be addressed this spring and summer.

“We just have to get more and more reps,” he said. “We’re going to challenge ourselves … time in the gym shooting. This group last spring worked really hard on playing games and getting game experience, so we played a lot of games in the spring and summer. And we worked really hard on our defense — I didn’t think it was going to be where it needed to be. The hard part is, you have to be balanced. We probably didn’t spend as much time as we will this season shooting, because we now have the game experience … now we can start fine-tuning.“

• One of the first things you notice at the state tournament is how the intensity picks up, in comparison to the regular season.

So does the physicality.

Whether it’s because it’s at state, or simply the way it goes elsewhere in the state, but defenders are allowed to be much more physical at the state tournament.

(For the record, I’m not saying one way is better than the other. The North Idaho refs call the games tighter, but don’t call the ticky-tack fouls, especially when no advantage is gained. And nothing against aggressive defense, though defenders who resort to the arm-bar method of keeping the offensive player from driving to the basket should probably be penalized.)

For a team like Timberlake, which was making its state debut, it had to be a little bit of an eye-opener. Especially when its opener was against Fruitland, the longtime football power. Granted, the hoops edition of the Grizzlies was unlike its pigskin counterparts, but the aggressiveness was the same. Area wrestling coaches would have been impressed.

“It’s just more physical — it’s more like a fight than a game,” Timberlake point guard Johnny Hayden said.

“It was physical, and they let it go,” Timberlake coach Tony Hanna said. “But we’ve got some pretty big strong kids, and we should be OK with that.”

• Looking ahead: Who might be the teams to beat next year at the state 5A boys basketball tournament?

It’s well known up here that Lake City will return three starters in forward Kyle Guice, point guard Justin Pratt and wing J.J. Winger, who will all be seniors.

Borah, which repeated as state champs, loses three starters, but brings back point guard Isaiah Wright, who will be a four-year starter next year. Capital, which beat Lake City on the second day en route to the consolation title, could be a team to watch. The Eagles lose just one senior, and started a sophomore and three juniors this year. Highland, which finished third returns one starter. Runner-up Rocky brings back two, including 3-point shooter E.J. Boyce. Madison will return point guard Lyle Sutton, who scored 18 vs. Post Falls. Mountain View brings back its point guard and a wing. Post Falls loses just two seniors from its entire team.

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