CALDWELL, Idaho — Whitepine League Division I stalwarts Lapwai and Potlatch — the state’s top two ranked teams for the past two months — seemed destined to close out their combative season series with a final, state-tournament showdown.

Who guessed it’d be in the third-place game?

The two expected to duke it out in the final, but both were heartbroken in tight semifinal losses. Despite their letdowns, the Wildcats and Loggers made Saturday’s game at Caldwell’s Vallivue High School feel like it was for a championship.

In a game chock full of momentum swings and rallies, Lapwai got the final word, assembling a superb second half and maintaining the lead to win 62-49, evening the 2019-20 rivalry at two wins apiece and claiming its second consecutive third-place finish.

“We came down here wanting to play Potlatch, it just happened to be for third place,” first-year Lapwai coach Zachary Eastman said. “And we knew we were gonna make some adjustments. We wanted to show who was the best team in the Whitepine.”

One might call them co-champions, although Potlatch did pocket the district title with a runaway victory.

“When we played at Districts, we didn’t wanna show them a lot of different defenses,” Eastman explained. “We knew we’d see them again.”

The Wildcats (22-4), who trailed by as many as nine late in the first quarter, outscored Potlatch (21-4) by 22 points in the next three periods. They limited the Loggers’ potent transition game, won on the glass (30-23), shot 75 percent after the break and held their opponents to 2-for-13 from 3-point range.

“I preach to these boys, ‘Basketball’s a game of runs, it’s how you handle yourself through it,’” Eastman said.

But even considering the discrepancy on paper, the advantage shifted from sideline to sideline by the minute, especially in the second quarter — both teams were flowing, and six consecutive baskets were scored before a 5-0 Lapwai spurt closed the half.

“That’s part of what happens when you play somebody four times,” Potlatch coach Ryan Ball said. “They know what you do well. Today, they did a better job making their baskets, limiting what we like to do.”

Lapwai earned its first lead at 36-33 early in the third on a Kross Taylor 3. Lydell Mitchell followed with back-to-back midrange jumpers, then Taylor was fouled on a 3 attempt and hit two free throws. The sequence swung the game in Lapwai’s favor.

In five minutes, Potlatch went from up two to down seven. Lapwai was 7-for-8 from the field in the third. The Loggers were 3-of-14 and trailed by 11.

“We left ’em open and they made ’em, and when they make their 3s, they’re a much better team,” Ball said of the Wildcats, who went 9-for-19 from beyond the arc. “They made shots, and we missed. Sometimes the game of basketball’s that easy.”

Lapwai, which was 17-for-22 at the foul line — from where it closed the game — played loose and free, and got a cohesive output, in which Titus Yearout scored 16 (and added six assists), Taylor added 14 (and had seven boards), and Mitchell tallied 15. The Wildcats’ smooth-running offense assisted on 14 field goals.

“Every timeout, I ended it with, ‘Let’s just go out and have fun,’” Eastman said. “That’s when they play their best.”

Potlatch, which shot 38 percent, got a game-high 19 points from hard-driving Tyler Wilcoxson, who also had five rebounds and five steals — all of which he dove on the floor for. Brayden Hadaller totaled 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while being keyed on. Connor Akins scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, as sizable Potlatch sought to exploit Lapwai with penetration plays.

In the fourth, the Loggers closed to within 53-48 with 3:30 remaining after concocting an 8-0 run with a seldom-used press defense, which induced five Lapwai backcourt turnovers in four minutes.

“We don’t wanna (press) too much, cause it fatigues you out,” Ball said. “But the kids can do it, so we got some turnovers, caused some havoc, but we didn’t capitalize on every one of them, and that was part of the problem.

“Just never got the big basket to cut into that thing.”

Lapwai drained the clock, then scooted comfortably ahead with free throws to tie up what arguably was the top rivalry this year in Class 1A Division I between a Potlatch team which will graduate its entire roster, and the Wildcats, who lose just two players.

“These kids are gonna be itching to get back down here,” Eastman said.

Said Ball of his team, which lost to eventual state champion Ambrose in overtime Friday: “I told them, ‘You know, you’re probably three seconds away from a state championship.’ ... I could never be disappointed with these kids, they gave it everything they had, and they’ve done it for three years.

“It’s heartbreaking. I’ve had a lot of teams I thought could come down here and win it.”

POTLATCH (21-4)

Brayden Hadaller 5 3-4 14, Connor Akins 5 2-2 12, Tyler Wilcoxson 7 4-6 19, Justin Nicholson 1 0-0 2, Jerrod Nicholson 0 1-2 1, Ty Svancara 0 1-2 1, Elijah Bouma 0 0-0 0, Teegan Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Dylan Andrews 0 0-0 0, Caleb Kerns 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 11-16 49.

LAPWAI (22-4)

JC Sobotta 0 0-0 0, Sincere Three Irons 0 0-0 0, Terrell Ellenwood-Jones 1 0-0 3, Titus Yearout 4 5-7 16, Kross Taylor 4 3-3 14, Chris Brown 0 0-0 0, Lydell Mitchell 5 4-4 15, Simon Henry 1 1-2 4, AJ Ellenwood 1 4-6 6, Samuel Ellenwood 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 17-22 62.

Potlatch 15 13 10 11—49

Lapwai 8 18 23 13—62

3-point goals — Hadaller, Wilcoxson, Ellenwood-Jones, Yearout 3, Taylor 3, Mitchell, Henry.

Clark may be reached at cclark@lmtribune.com, on Twitter @ClarkTrib or by phone at (208) 848-2260.