BOISE - Matthew Smith wasn't going to let the St. Maries Lumberjacks go home without a trophy.

The ponytailed, left-handed, senior guard drove into the lane and hit a hanging jumper with 12 seconds left for the go-ahead points, and St. Maries went on to beat West Jefferson of Terreton 71-69 in the third-place game of the state 2A boys basketball tournament Saturday at Capital High.

"I wanted the ball so bad; I was calling for it," said the 5-foot-11 Smith, who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. "I knew I was taking it right to the hole, and I knew (the defender) wasn't going to stop me."

St. Maries (18-5) earned its first trophy at state since a fourth-place finish in 3A in 2009. It was only the Lumberjacks' second trophy from state since 1989.

"I'm so proud of these young men," first-year St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. "We got down several times by 10, 12, and they just had a never-give-up attitude all season long. Matt Smith took over the game, and he's our biggest spark plug."

After Smith's go-ahead basket, West Jefferson (19-10) rushed the ball up the floor. James Burtenshaw's driving layup try off the glass was just a bit strong, hanging on the rim for an instant before falling off on the other side, where Smith - naturally - was waiting for the rebound. He was fouled with 3.7 seconds left, and made 1 of 2 free throws for a two-point lead. A half-court shot by West Jefferson's Hardley Edelmayer, who led all scorers with 25 points, was just off the mark to the right at the buzzer.

"I had my life flash before my eyes," Smith said of West Jefferson's missed layin.

It was a wonder anyone was around at the finish after a rugged first half which saw 27 fouls whistled and 41 free throws - 30 in the second quarter - attempted. Each team had two players with three fouls at halftime.

St. Maries still trailed 56-45 after three quarters, but started the fourth with an 11-0 run to tie the game. Senior forward AJ Becktel scored a pair of inside baskets, Smith stole the ball and hit a pull-up 3-pointer, and sophomore Jake Sieler's two free throws tied it at 56 with 5:29 remaining.

The game was tight the rest of the way. Edelmayer's free throw with 24.8 seconds left put West Jefferson up 69-68, setting the stage for Smith, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Several of his baskets were twisting, contorted shots that might not have looked like the best idea at the time - until they kept going in.

"He makes the difficult shot," Chase said. "He's one of those guys you wouldn't want to play in a three-on-three tournament."

"It's not about pretty for me - it's about scoring buckets," Smith said.

Logan Feasline scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for St. Maries. The Lumberjacks were relentless on the offensive boards, led by Feasline, who had nine of the Lumberjacks' 25 offensive rebounds. Becktel finished with 11 points, Sieler 10.

Uriel Garcia scored 13 points for West Jefferson, but was one of two Panthers to foul out. For the game, 48 fouls were called, three players fouled out, and 65 free throws were shot.

"Those refs called it how we've been playing all season long," Chase said. "They called the hand checks, they called the obvious stuff - it was night and day from the first couple of games. But I thought our kids adjusted (in the second half) a little better than they did."

Chase said the Lumberjacks were "crushed" by Friday night's 59-55 loss to Soda Springs in the semifinals - a game St. Maries led by 13 points in the first half.

"We were all heartbroken after yesterday's loss, but they sure did respond well," Chase said.

"We wanted the first-place trophy, but we didn't get it," Smith said. "But it felt really great to get this third-place trophy. On the bus ride home (Friday night), I just felt grateful that I was down here at state, and I realized the only thing I could do was bring a trophy home."

West Jefferson 17 20 19 13 - 69

St. Maries 11 18 16 26 - 71

WEST JEFFERSON - Edelmayer 25, Tomlinson 2 Holdaway 4, Briggs 10, Pancheri 3, A. Garcia 2, Burtenshaw 3, Skidmore 7, U. Garcia 13. Totals 20-46 23-35 69.

ST. MARIES - Lounsbury 2, Gibson 3, Sieler 10, Truscott 0, Greer 4, Wilson 3, Asbury 1, Burnett 0, Smith 23, Feasline 14, Becktel 11. Totals 25-71 17-30 71.