COEUR d’ALENE — Amid all the screaming, the wild momentum swings — and, yes, even the baby powder — the Lake City High boys basketball team fought its way back into the 5A Inland Empire League race.

Lake City built an 18-point lead in the third quarter, then saw it shrink down to two before holding on for a 53-47 victory over Coeur d’Alene in the Fight for the Fish spirit games Friday night at Coeur d’Alene High’s Elmer Jordan Court.

Lake City (9-4, 2-1 5A IEL) avenged a four-point loss at home last week to Coeur d’Alene, and kept the Vikings (9-2, 2-1) from all but wrapping up the league title.

“We knew it was a big game, but we didn’t treat it as anything bigger than it really was,” said Lake City senior J.J. Winger, who scored 12 points, including 4 of 4 free throws in the final 1:10 to keep Coeur d’Alene at bay. “They started pressing at the end, but we did a better job of getting the ball to the guys we wanted to shoot free throws. I’ve been in too many of these to miss those free throws.”

In the girls game, Sydney Williams scored eight points in the first quarter, and scored all 11 of her points in the first half as Coeur d’Alene (14-2, 3-1 5A IEL) cruised past Lake City (9-8, 1-3) 59-29.

An overflow crowd estimated at 1,800 looked on.

Lake City 53, Coeur d’Alene 47: Lake City used a variety of zone defenses to keep the pace slow — a strategy which worked most of the game.

The Timberwolves trailed by five points in the first quarter, then went on an 11-0 run to take a 24-19 halftime lead.

Coeur d’Alene opened the third quarter in a zone, but Winger shot the Vikings out of it with back-to-back 3s, the start of an 11-0 run. Lake City built its biggest lead at 39-21 with 3:52 left in the quarter.

Coeur d’Alene picked up the pressure, forcing Lake City turnovers with its full-court press. Junior forward Tony Naccarato, who led all scorers with 19 points, grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a 3-point play to pull the Vikings within 46-44 with 2:44 remaining.

After a timeout, Lake City ran nearly a minute and a half off the clock before Winger was fouled and sank two free throws with 1:10 left. All told, the T-Wolves sank 7 of 8 free throws in the final 70 seconds to seal the win.

“We had to have this; no doubt about it,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “I was impressed with the start, and I was fairly pleased with the third quarter. They made a run, and we hung in there and pulled it out. I’m absolutely thrilled with how we finished. It’s huge getting out of here with a win.”

Winger scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Kyle Guice scored nine of his 12 in the first half. Tucker Louie-McGee scored nine points off the bench, six in the fourth quarter. Justin Pratt also scored nine points, and Jake Vetsch had all eight of his points in the first half.

“I was proud of the kids for battling,” Coeur d’Alene coach Kurt Lundblad said. “We dug too big of a hole, obviously. We just didn’t play very well in the first half, especially offensively. I thought we were real tentative, and weren’t as aggressive as we normally are offensively.”

Justin Carpenter added 11 points for Coeur d’Alene, including a pair of 3-pointer in the fourth-quarter comeback. The Vikings were 15 of 46 from the field.

“I was really pleased with our zone defenses,” Winger said. “We’re long, so you have to extend your zone offense. I thought we lost the last game because of transition defense, and I don’t remember them getting very many transition baskets tonight.”

“I think a big part of the game is the pace,” Lundblad said. “They like that slower pace ... if you play at that pace, it’s advantage Lake City.

“We didn’t function well against the zone, and that’s on the coach,” he added. “We like to push the ball, and even when we got a stop, we didn’t push it out like we normally did. And we were just a little dysfunctional against the zone tonight; we weren’t aggressive in the first half. We threw the ball around the perimeter, no one hit gaps, no one really forced them to defend. It took us a while to figure out we have to attack that zone.”

Coeur d’Alene travels to Glacier of Flathead, Mont., on Monday. Lake City returns to action next Friday at home vs. Post Falls.

Lake City 10 14 14 15 — 53

Coeur d’Alene 12 7 9 19 — 47

LAKE CITY — Adams 0, Pratt 9, Louie-McGee 9, Vetsch 8, Guice 12, Turner 0, Dahl 2, Winger 12, Mitchell 0, Hancock 1.

COEUR d’ALENE — Paulsen 0, Tripp 2, Daniels 4, Carpenter 11, Williams 0, Hicks 2, Walde 5, Kluss 4, T. Naccarato 19.

Coeur d’Alene 59, Lake City 29: Senior guard Sara Chalich drilled three straight 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter, turning a 29-11 halftime lead into a 40-13 bulge.

Chalich finished with 12 points. Sydni Parker scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

“It’s overall balance,” Coeur d’Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. “Chalich hits those three 3s in a row in the third quarter, and any wind that was left in their sails was gone. It’s a real balanced group of kids.”

Williams scored six of Coeur d’Alene’s first eight points, and the Vikings led 17-6 at the quarter.

Lake City, which lost by 25 points at home to Coeur d’Alene last week, committed 25 turnovers and shot 12 of 34 from the floor.

“We just play so hard on defense,” Poffenroth said. “Whoever you play will never be used to anybody playing that well on defense.”

Madi Farrell led Lake City with eight points.

“Our kids are playing pretty good right now,” Poffenroth said. “Bryan’s got a good ballclub; I think he’s plenty capable of coming out of here and going to state.”

The start of the second half was delayed after Lake City students threw baby powder into the air during a skit at the end of the first half, and parts of the gym floor had to be mopped.

Coeur d’Alene travels to Glacier of Flathead, Mont., on Monday. Lake City returns to action next Friday at home vs. Post Falls.

Lake City 6 5 7 11 — 29

Coeur d’Alene 17 12 18 12 — 59

LAKE CITY — Jackson 5, Dvorak 0, Wilson 0, Wheelock 4, Wendlandt 1, Smith 4, O. Maryon 0, Farrell 8, Carlson 0, Meier 7.

COEUR d’ALENE — Parker 16, Sumner 6, Chalich 12, Callahan 0, K. Fagan 0, Tackett 6, Miller 0, Matheson 6, J. Fagan 2, Williams 11.