COEUR d’ALENE — A last-minute change in venue, and the return of its point guard both worked out well for the Post Falls High boys basketball team Friday night.

Junior Cole Rutherford returned after missing four games with a high ankle sprain, and the Trojans shot 61.4 percent from the field in running away from the Lewiston Bengals 77-48 in a 5A Inland Empire League game moved to Lake City High following a power outage during the preceding girls varsity game at The Arena at Post Falls.

“It felt great to be back with the team,” said Rutherford, whose first game missed was Post Falls’ 52-49 loss at Lewiston on Jan. 10. “Get that revenge on Lewiston ... we brought it tonight.”

Caden McLean hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points for Post Falls (16-3, 3-1 5A IEL), which jumped over Lewiston (11-4, 2-1) into the league lead. Colby Gennett added 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals for the Trojans, who were 27 of 44 from the field.

Rutherford played roughly the last half of the first, second and third quarters, and with him on the floor, Post Falls went on runs each time — 11-2 in the first, a modest 10-6 one in the second and a 10-0 run in the third.

“Obviously it makes us a little more dynamic,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. “That just adds another ballhandler that’s really hard to defend. We’ll have to ease him back into this. And while he was gone, some other guys learned some things about themselves. Cole did a good job seemlessly blending back in.”

While Lewiston was shooting free throws with 6.2 seconds left in the first half, Rutherford and Caden McLean chatted in front of the Post Falls bench. Moments later, Rutherford took the inbound pass on the run, drove to the top of the 3-point arc before bouncing a pass behind him to McLean, who buried a 25-foot 3 at the buzzer.

“That was a little throwback; me and him have been playing since fifth grade,” said Rutherford, who was cleared to play after making it through a week of practice with no discomfort. The play was “just kind of an on-the-spot thing. He thought of it; he said, ‘Let’s do this,’ and so ... ”

“That’s not a play we called,” Mike McLean said. “Cole and Caden go over and talk about what they’re going to do. Nobody else in the gym knew what was going to happen; I didn’t even know what they were doing ... let the running mates roll together.”

Post Falls was 8 of 18 from 3-point range, but just 1 of 3 on dunk attempts — missing two before Gennett stuffed one home on a feed from Alex Horning. Horning finished with 13 points, three assists, two steals and a change in uniform in the first half, after he got drenched drinking a sports drink on the bench when Rutherford landed on him while trying to save the ball.

Following the late (8:23 p.m.) tipoff, Post Falls made 7 of 11 in the first quarter, and 15 of 26 for the half en route to a 40-21 lead at intermission. Forward James Lee, who has started in Rutherford’s absence while Caden McLean moved over to point guard, scored the Trojans’ first five points, and tallied all seven of his points in the first half.

Isaac Ballew’s 3 capped that 10-0 run that hiked Post Falls’ lead to 54-28 late in the third.

Junior Kash Lang hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points for Lewiston, which has no seniors on its roster. The Bengals shot 17 of 44 (38.6 percent) from the field.

“We struggled shooting it tonight,” Lewiston coach Jayson Ulrich said. “Hat’s off to them; they made tough shots, even if we had hands in their face. They were a lot more aggressive than us. I thought we played very hard; you just get deflated when so many of those don’t go in.

“Just one of those nights, but with the young group I’ve got, they’re not going to stop,” said Ulrich, whose squad also has a league win at Coeur d’Alene. “It’ll be an interesting rest of the league.”

Lake City coach Jim Winger was getting ready to head to Post Falls High to scout the game, when he received a phone call from Lewiston principal Kevin Driskill. Moments later, when school officials learned power might not be restored for hours, Winger was opening up his gym for the league foes, as well as an estimated 1,000 fans.

Post Falls is now 4-0 this season in Lake City’s gym, having won three during the Lake City Invitational over the holidays. The Trojans play at Lake City in a league game Feb. 14. Post Falls has played six times in its own gym this season.

Post Falls plays host to Coeur d’Alene on Thursday.

Lewiston returns to Lake City next Thursday, this time to play Lake City.

Lewiston 7 14 9 18 — 48

Post Falls 18 22 14 23 — 77

LEWISTON — Eke 1, McKarcher 4, Lang 15, Mullikin 8, Hottinger 2, Hepburn 6, White 2, Eckert 2, Forsman 2, Forsmann 6.

POST FALLS — Gennett 20, McLean 21, Wubbolding 0, Rodriguez 0, Peterson 2, Rutherford 5, Ballew 6, Lee 7, Horning 13, Shields 3.