CALDWELL — They started slow, missing six of their first eight shots, which was somewhat to be expected of a program making its first state appearance since 2015.

But once the Lakeside Knights got into their runnin’, gunnin’ groove, they looked much like the juggernaut that ran roughshod over nearly everybody they played this season.

Lakeside set a classification scoring record for a state tournament game with an entertaining 95-69 victory over the Garden Valley Wolverines on Thursday night in a first-round game at the state 1A Division II boys basketball tournament at Caldwell High.

“It was really fun; it was just like a feeling you really can’t explain … it was exciting,” said Lakeside 6-foot-8 junior post Darren “Day Day” Higgins, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, at least three blocked shots (two on one possession) and two steals.

Lakeside (22-0) will play Dietrich (19-7) in a semifinal game today at 2 p.m. PST at Caldwell High. Dietrich, which gave Genesis Prep a battle in both years the Jaguars won a state title (2017, ’18), beat Mackay 78-71 in overtime.

Junior Kenyon Spotted Horse led Lakeside with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Vander Brown added 19 points, Talon Twoteeth 13 and Jayson “JJ” Hall 11.

Covy Kelly, a 6-foot junior guard and last year’s 1A Division II All-Idaho Player of the Year when the Wolverines finished second at state, scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half for Garden Valley (16-4). Joachim Fuhriman hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and added 18 points for the Wolverines.

Spotted Horse scored 16 in the first half as Lakeside led 54-32 at intermission.

“Uncharistically, we turned the ball over a lot more (early) than we (usually do),” Lakeside coach James Twoteeth said. “Once we settled down, we scored at will.”

Dietrich held the previous single-game scoring record in 1A Division II with 87 in a 2017 game at state.

The teams combined to hoist up 120 shots in the 32-minute game. Lakeside shot a sizzling 62.5 percent (40 of 64) from the field, and Garden Valley was 24 of 56 (42.9 percent), including 9 of 29 from 3-point range.

Lakeside started to pull away late in the first quarter, using steals and runouts from missed shots to repeatedly beat Garden Valley down the floor.

Higgins said the Knights ran so much in preseason practice, they can thrive in a fast-paced game.

“We were just a lot quicker,” Higgins said. “They got tired at the end of the first quarter, beginning of the second quarter, and we took advantage of that, upped the tempo a little bit more.”

Lakeside led 42-17 midway through the second quarter following a 3 by Abuan, who finished with five points and three steals. Garden Valley came as close as 13 points (65-52) with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, but Lakeside answered with a outback from Hall and a transition bucket from Brown, and pulled away in the fourth.

“Vander and Jasper (Abuan) played pretty well,” Twoteeth said. “They played quicker; we need to be a little more quick, and they did a really good job defensively.

“Jasper had like two or three big steals in a row. And Vander’s just quick, so when he gets out and runs, he’s going to finish on the other end.”

Lakeside 26 28 17 24 — 95

Garden Valley 13 19 20 17 — 69

LAKESIDE — Brown 19, Abuan 5, Higgins 21, White 0, Hall 11, Twoteeth 13, Spotted Horse 26, Matt 0. Totals 40-64 12-17 95.

GARDEN VALLEY — Castillo 3, E. Van Dyk 0, Ross 2, Kelly 29, Fuhriman 18, C. Van Dyk 0, Lindstrom 0, Fields 1, Yearly 14, LaFleur 2. Totals 24-56 12-19 69.