POST FALLS — Clark Fork boys basketball kept things close early, but Genesis Prep pulled away in the second half to hand the Wampus Cats a 66-40 season-opening loss.

Head coach Heath Beason said senior Chris Wade went down early in the game with a knee injury and he had to lean on his younger players to step up.

"The kids were excited and confident and I think we just kind of got way too overconfident," he said, "and to be a good team you got to beat good teams. We made some silly errors ... we beat ourselves in this game."

The Wampus Cats only trailed by 7 points at the half, but the Panthers scored 42 points in the final 16 minutes to secure the win.

Beason said his team got tired midway through the third quarter and they never recovered.

"They are a good team," he said. "I thought we had a really good chance of staying with them. In the first half, we were doing pretty well, but in the second half we just fell apart."

Senior Cameron Garcia led the team with 18 points. Sam Barnett scored 10 points, Carter Sanroman tallied six and Cole Reuter and Ethan Howard each added 3.

The Wampus Cats (0-1) host Priest River at 7 p.m. next Friday.

Clark Fork 9 8 11 12 — 40

Genesis Prep 12 12 22 20 — 66

CLARK FORK — Garcia 18, Sanroman 6, Reuter 3, Shelton 0, Barnett 10, Wade 0, Mayorga 0, Bopp 0, Howard 3, Mintken 0, Cirrincione 0, Matteson 0.

GENESIS PREP — Weeks 21, Gonzales 23, Schroeder 7, Robert 3, Daniels 4, McLuskie 8.