NAMPA - The Post Falls Trojans got the potential game-tying shot they wanted, from the guy they wanted.

But Matt Hillman's 3-point try from the left baseline bounced on the rim three tantalizing times before trickling off the other side at the buzzer, and Post Falls fell 48-45 to Highland of Pocatello in a loser-out game of the state 5A boys basketball tournament Friday afternoon at the Ford Idaho Center.

"I was confident it was going in," Hillman said. "My teammates did a great job giving me the ball, I had a great look, so ... I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Post Falls, in its sixth straight trip to state, finished 15-10. Highland (20-5) will play Skyline (20-7) of Idaho Falls this morning at Columbia High in Nampa for the consolation title.

Post Falls coach Mike McLean isn't one for moral victories, but following his team's second straight two-and-out performance at state, he praised his seniors for bouncing back from Thursday night's 31-point loss to Rocky Mountain of Meridian.

"I'm very proud of our seniors," McLean said. "We all had our own expectations of what we wanted. You lose a big game last night, and you have to bounce back in less than 24 hours, to regroup, I think that shows a lot of how much senior leadership you have. All you can ask for as a competitor is a chance, and we had a chance to redeem ourselves, as far as our showing on the court, and I felt we did that today.

"At the end of the game we had a chance. We got an open look from the guy that I wanted to shoot that shot."

Senior guard Nick Hall hit 3 of 5 3-pointers and led Post Falls with 13 points. Hillman, another senior, hit 3 of 4 3s and added 11. Senior post Corey Koski had seven points and nine rebounds.

For the second straight game, Highland's offense pretty much consisted of junior guard Stefan Gonzalez and sophomore guard Connor Harding. The pair combined for 39 points in the Rams' 69-54 loss to Borah of Boise in the first round.

On Friday, Gonzalez, brother of the twins who starred for the Highland girls basketball team the last four years before heading off to play at Kansas this year, finished with 23 points, and Harding had 16.

"Kids like that, you're not going to shut them down," McLean said. "We tried to make them work for everything they had. Where they hurt us was, they got to the foul line. They both had seven free throws, and that hurt us. We fouled them too much, for whatever reason."

Post Falls fell behind 35-25 midway through the third quarter before mounting a comeback. Back-to-back 3s from Hall and Hillman sparked a 12-0 run that put the Trojans up 37-35 early in the fourth. Highland answered with a 6-0 run, but Post Falls pulled even at 45 on a free throw by Koski with 1:02 left.

Joe Pfennigs of Post Falls came up with a steal, but the Trojans missed the front end of a one-and-one with 30 seconds left. Gonzalez was fouled on the drive, and sank the second of two free throws with 19.6 seconds left. Post Falls turned the ball over with 5.9 seconds left and Harding hit two free throws with 4.4 left for the final margin.

"What cost us the game was free-throw shooting," said McLean, whose team was 6 of 15 from the line.

Chris Frost, in his 24th year as Highland coach, said Post Falls' rebounding (the Trojans enjoyed a 35-27 advantage on the boards) gave his team the most fits.

"Post Falls is a pretty good team," Frost said. "I like their sets, they're really moving and chasing the ball. Mike McLean does a good job with them. It's just too bad (for them); that game could have gone either way. They played very hard."

Post Falls 15 8 11 11 - 45

Highland 15 12 8 13 - 48

POST FALLS - Hall 13, McKeown 1, Davenport 1, Pfennigs 7, M. Hillman 11, Anderson 2, McCullough 2, Thompson 1, Koski 7. Totals 16-49 6-15 45.

HIGHLAND - Frazier-Flores 0, West 2, Gonzalez 23, Hansen 3, Harding 16, Woodward 0, Manu 2, Page 2. Totals 14-39 14-17 48.a