COEUR d’ALENE — Tanner McCliment-Call scored 15 points, but that wasn’t his most important contribution to the Post Falls High boys basketball team’s cause Thursday night.

The senior guard’s defense on Sam Matheson, Coeur d’Alene’s top scorer, was lauded by Trojan coach Mike McLean after Post Falls swamped the Vikings 70-46 in the 5A Inland Empire League opener for both schools at Elmer Jordan Court.

“Tonight was Tanner’s best game I’ve seen him play,” said McLean, after McCliment-Call held Matheson to seven points. “Tonight before the game we challenged him — ‘You’re going to have to guard Matheson’ — and Tanner made him work for however many buckets he had (three). He stepped up to the challenge and understood that his teammates needed more from him than just what he’s done in the past.”

Post Falls (7-5), missing two starters for the second straight game, jumped on Coeur d’Alene (4-5) from the start, first from the 3-point line, then on back cuts when the Vikings extended their defense.

Jake Pfennigs, Post Falls’ top scorer, scored 12 points in the first quarter, hitting 4 of 4 from 3-point range as the Trojans went 6 for 7 from behind the arc in the quarter. The 6-foot-7 Pfennigs finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Matt Fleming, who moved into the starting lineup, added 10 points. Nicolas Morris, also new to the starting lineup, hit 2 of 2 3s in the first quarter and finished with eight points — all in the first half — and five assists.

McCliment-Call also had six assists, and all eight that played for Post Falls scored.

On Thursday night, Morris moved into the point guard spot, and when he rested, McCliment-Call took a turn at the point.

McLean said he’s optimist Colby Gennett, a sophomore starting guard out since last week with an ankle injury, will be back next week.

“Currently we are what we are,” McLean said. “We preach to our players, ‘we make no excuses.’ What I told our kids before the game is, over our 11 years year (as head coach), we’ve had a lot of players come through here and do some special things. I truly think two things never graduate — tradition and fundamentals. And the group that we have in the locker room right now, there’s a tradition they’re going to uphold, and fundamentally, they can all do about anything I ask them to. So they may be playing in a position they didn’t play earlier, but the work they’ve put in, this is the payoff. When there’s an opportunity, you have to step up and take advantage of it.”

Post Falls led by as much as 21 points late in the first half. Coeur d’Alene inched to within 14 points midway through the third quarter. But the Trojans responded with a 14-2 runs stretching into early in the fourth quarter, and that was that.

Coeur d’Alene had a gameplan as well — slow down Pfennigs and McCliment-Call. Obviously, that didn’t work as well as Post Falls’ gameplan did.

“We got our tails whupped,” Viking coach Tony Hanna said. “We knew we would have had to play our best to compete with those guys. Unfortunately, when their best players get going, the other players follow suit.”

Carter Friesz led Coeur d’Alene with 10 points. Caleb Beggerly added eight, and Kale Edwards had seven points and five boards.

On Saturday, Post Falls plays host to Glacier of Kalispell, Mont., and Coeur d’Alene is home against Hellgate of Missoula.

Post Falls 24 17 20 9 — 70

Coeur d’Alene 13 9 15 9 — 46

POST FALLS — Buer 4, McCliment-Call 15, Walker 4, Bourgard 7, Fleming 10, Ballew 2, Pfennigs 20, Morris 8.

COEUR d’ALENE — Kile 0, Delbridge 2, Leifer 0, Whittaker 3, Matheson 7, Friesz 10, Margo 0, Beggerly 8, Hostetter 3, Johnson 2, Dunteman 2, Bloom 2, Edwards 7.