By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

4A

The Lakeland Hawks began last week with just three wins in 19 games.

Then Lakeland put it together in the postseason, rattling off three wins in five days — two on the road — to earn 4A Region 1’s lone berth to state.

So the Hawks (6-16) are just happy to be at state, right?

“No,” Lakeland senior guard Scotty Hocking said. “Centennial went down there as the eighth seed (last year), and upset Lake City. At this point, any team can beat any team.”

Lakeland opens vs. top-seeded Hillcrest (22-1) of Ammon in the first round tonight at 6 PST at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian.

“We’re going to be the eighth seed, and we’re going to see Hillcrest, and that’s OK,” second-year Lakeland coach Tony Hanna said. “These kids go into every game like, we’re going to fight.”

When the season started, other than Hocking and a couple other players, the Hawks were largely inexperienced. But when others, like senior Nick Nowell (9.0 ppg), junior Ben Ryan (7.6 ppg, 7.4 rebounds), junior Kenton Ferguson (7.2 ppg) and senior Collin Cameron (6.9 ppg) started stepping up, the Hawks took off.

“Because we had so little experience coming back at the beginning of the season, I was playing lots of guys, trying to figure out what our rotations would look like,” Hanna said. “And it started coming together at the end of the season.”

Hocking leads the way at 17.2 ppg.

“He’s meant everything for us,” Hanna said. “He’s one of those kids, once he decides to take over a game, it’s fun to watch. He’s so crafty with the basketball in his hands … he’s such a great offensive threat. But I really had to get on him to focus at the defensive end, too. Early on, he had a tendency to take off on the defensive end, so he could have it all at the offensive end. So I challenged him. At the beginning of the year, since we didn’t have a lot of experience, he didn’t know how much he could trust his teammates.”

But now …

“We have more weapons than I think we realized early on. I think we’re harder to guard now, because they can’t just take Scotty away,” Hanna said.

NOTES: Bishop Kelly is at state for the 10th time in 11 seasons and is on a nine-game winning streak ... Julian Bowie, a Boise State recruit, averages 20 points per game for Pocatello ... Hillcrest's lone loss came to 5A District 5-6 champion Madison.

5A

That game everybody wanted to see early in the season — and got to see?

Fans could see a rematch for the state championship, if Lake City and defending champion Owyhee of Meridian win their first two games at state.

But the Timberwolves (23-0) say they’re only focused on Highland (14-12) of Pocatello, who they face in the first round tonight at 6 PST at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“We’re not looking by anybody. I think we learned our lesson on that,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “This year, we’ve done way less with other teams. We’ve stuck to worrying about ourselves.”

NOTES: Eagle, coached by former San Francisco quarterback Cody Pickett, is at state for the fourth-straight year, but went 0-2 at state in 2022 ... Highland is at state for the first time since 2016 ... Madison has won 15 straight since a loss to Hillcrest on Jan. 3. ... Meridian is 3-5 against 5A qualifiers this season ... Mountain View went 4-0 in its bracket at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas ... Owyhee lost one senior off last year's championship team in the program's first season ... Timberline last won at state in 2012, when the Wolves of Boise finished third.

2A

They’ve played in three of the last four state championship games, including last year.

But the St. Maries Lumberjacks are coming in a bit under the radar this time around.

“I feel we haven't gotten a lot of respect (statewide), and we’re playing our best basketball right now,” said Bryan Chase, who has guided St. Maries to state in each of his nine seasons as head coach. “For the first time, we’re finally healthy, and that seems to make a difference this time of year.”

St. Maries (17-5), the fourth seed, faces fifth-seeded Ririe (20-4) in the first round today at 4 PST at Capital High in Boise.

Senior guard Greyson Sands, who missed seven games with a grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, is averaging 16.1 points and 3.3 assists per game, and has loads of state experience from the past three years.

“We had a pretty good core group of seniors last year, and I think Grey just knew his role with that group, and how to fit in; didn’t want to do too much,” Chase said. “But with this group, he knows that there’s times he has to take over the game.”

But often times, there’s others to pick up the slack, like senior post Tristun Hill (9.5 ppg, 7 rebounds), senior post Colby Renner (8.8 ppg, 5.1 rebounds) and senior guard Dillon Holder (8.9 ppg), among others.

“The rest of the seniors haven’t seen a lot of floor time down there, but they’ve been down there the last three years, so they know what to expect, and that it’s a business trip,” Chase said. “We’re going down there to bring down some hardware.”

St. Maries is on the same side of the bracket as top-seeded Melba (23-0), which beat the Lumberjacks in the state title game last season. They could meet in the semifinals on Friday.

“They’ve got a 6-5 and a 6-9 kid, and an elite point guard,” Chase said of Melba. “They’ve got it all, really.”

When the buzzer sounded last Saturday in Grangeville, and Kellogg had earned its first trip to state since 2020, it was a sense of …

“Finally,” third-year Kellogg coach Mike Martin said.

Kellogg (18-7) is the sixth seed, and opens state vs. Cole Valley Christian (19-5) today at 1 p.m. PST at Capital High in Boise.

Three of Cole Valley Christian’s losses were to Melba.

The Wildcats have six seniors, led by the Luna twins, Riply (19.8 ppg, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists) and Kolby (16.3 ppg, 7.1 rebounds), who recently committed to play football at the University of Miami. The twins were freshmen on the last Kellogg team to go to state.

“Keeping up with the other teams in the state, we can compete with anybody in the state; we’re just excited to get down and get after it,” Martin said.

Until recently, Kellogg was a regular at state.

“The Jeffs (Lambert and Nearing) had gotten them there seven straight years,” Martin said. “And we had started a streak going the other way, so to break that, it’s a great feeling, but it’s a testament to what the kids have done over the past three years.”

NOTES: Melba, the defending champion, has won 38 straight dating back to last season ... Cole Valley Christian is at state for the first time since 2020 ... Ririe is on an eight-game win streak ... West Side is on a five-game win streak, but 1-5 against 2A qualifiers.

1A Division 1

Senior guard Vander Brown is the lone Lakeside player with much experience from the Knights’ last trip to state in 2021, when they took third in 1A Division I — one year after winning the 1A Division II title.

Brown averages 23.8 points per game, as well as 3.9 assists and 2.9 steals.

However …

“It’s really weird,” sixth-year Lakeside coach James Twoteeth said. “When he gets in foul trouble, or gets injured and comes out, we seem to play better. It just shows the growth of the other guys, because they can step up. In our big games, vs. Lapwai and St. Maries, he’s been in foul trouble … and the other guys step up.”

Most notably — freshman Tyson Charley (15.4 ppg) and junior Liam Hendrickx (15.0 ppg). But also: junior Brutis SiJohn (9.3 ppg), junior Qwincy Hall (7.3 ppg) and junior Blaze Callahan (6.9).

How do you explain that?

“It’s the work they’re putting in in practice; that’s what they’re getting out,” Brown said. “In situations where I’m not playing my best, or in foul trouble, they’re stepping it up, and I’m really thankful for that.”

Lakeside lost by ONLY 13 points at Lapwai in early January. Lapwai has won 60 games in a row, and only two teams have played them closer than Lakeside — Baker, Ore., who lost by one point, and 5A Lewiston, who lost by seven.

Lakeside and Lapwai could meet up again in the state title game.

“I think we’re confident if we play them again,” Twoteeth said. “I think we’re probably the only ones that can give them a game down there.”

Added Brown:

“When we see them again, they better be ready for us.”

3A

Bonners Ferry (21-1) opens as the top seed in its third straight trip to state ... The Badgers were ranked second in the final state media poll ... Buhl, the Badgers' opponent, is at state for the first time since 2016.

NOTES: Sugar-Salem was the top ranked team in final media poll and enters state on an 11-game win streak ... Diggers allow 49.4 points per game, the fifth best in the classification ... Teton has won seven state titles, the last as a 2A program in 1997.

1A Division II

Clark Fork (13-8) is at state for the first time since 2021 and second since 2008, when the Wampus Cats fell in the fourth-place game in a 16-team tournament ... Wampus Cats won last two district titles, but failed to win play-in game last season ... Rockland is the defending champion and has been ranked No. 1 all season in the media poll ... Timberline of Weippe advanced to state by upsetting 49-47 in District 2 tournament, then beat St. John Bosco in a play-in game ...