PREP ROUNDUP: St. Maries tops Lapwai in matchup of ranked teams

ST. MARIES - In a matchup of two of North Idaho's top teams, a fast start and a big fourth quarter carried St. Maries, the state's No. 3 team in 2A, past visiting Lapwai, the state's defending 1A Division I champion.

Senior Eli Gibson scored 14 of his 18 points in the final period, leading the Lumberjacks past the Wildcats 65-58 on Monday night.

"He kind of did it all for us tonight," St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said of Gipson, who went 6-for-6 at the foul line, dished out six assists and had three steals.

"Eli hit a deep 3-pointer, from about 25 feet out, with four minutes to go that put us ahead 49-44. We were able to hold on to a five-point lead from that point."

The Lumberjacks (8-0) opened a 23-10 lead after the first quarter, with Coleman Ross and Tristan Gentry scoring six points apiece in the opening period.

Lapwai (6-3), led by Titus Yearout's 22 points, tallied 21 second-quarter points to cut the hosts' lead to 33-31 at halftime, and the game remained tight in the second half.

"It really was a great high school basketball game," Chase said. "We know they like to play fast, so a score in the 80s wouldn't be to our advantage, but we picked our spots to run with them."

Colby Renner had 11 points and Gentry tallied 11 points and seven rebounds for St. Maries, which hosts Kellogg on Thursday.

Lapwai 10 21 11 16 - 58

St. Maries 23 10 10 22 - 65

LAPWAI - T. Ellenwood-Jones 10, T. Yearout 22, Taylor 10, Mitchell 0, Sobotta 2, Wynott 4, A.J. Ellenwood 10.

ST. MARIES - Ross 8, Gentry 11, Stancil 8, Elliott 9, Wicks 0, Gipson 18, T. Renner 0, Ledbetter 0, C. Renner 11.