STATE 1A DIVISION I BOYS BASKETBALL: Lakeside puts the pressure on Potlatch early

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

CALDWELL — The Lakeside Knights didn’t look much like a team with little state tournament experience Thursday afternoon.

Applying full-court pressure from the outset certainly helped.

“I feel like we were really prepared for what Potlatch was going to throw at us,” said Lakeside junior Liam Hendrickx, who scored a game-high 18 points as the third-seeded Knights handled the sixth-seeded Potlatch Loggers 68-44 in a state 1A Division I boys basketball first-round game at Vallivue High. “And just pushing the ball; it was good how we put that constant pressure on Potlatch, and forced some turnovers, and it was just easy to score.”

Lakeside (16-3), at state for the first time since 2021, will play second-seeded Grace (21-4) today at 4 p.m. PST in the semifinals. Grace defeated Victory Charter (20-5) 65-50.

Freshman Tyson Charley added 17 points for Lakeside. Senior Vander Brown, a big part of the Knights’ 2020 state title team and the 2021 third-place group, had 15 points, junior Brutis SiJohn 10.

“We watched a little of the first game (Grace-Victory Charter) and they were a little starstruck … it’s a different atmosphere,” Lakeside coach James Twoteeth said. “Only a couple of them had been at state before, and they were a little wide-eyed. I just told them, be ready to play, it’s the same as any other game, just play like you’re supposed to, and you’ll be fine.

“The first quarter was a little bit crazy, but then they settled down and hit some shots.”

Lakeside shot 52% (29 of 56) from the field for the game — some of it on good outside shooting (6 of 15 on 3-pointers), but some of it on layups as the Knights, with Brown at the head of a 1-2-1-1 full-court press, forced 17 turnovers — though it seemed like more than that — and also sped up the Loggers.

Lakeside led 22-12 after one quarter and 35-22 at halftime.

Hendrickx, who transferred after attending Gonzaga Prep his first two years of high school, scored 14 points in the first half and finished 8 of 15 from the field, including 2 of 4 from the 3-point line.

“I just felt comfortable out there,” said Hendrickx, whose dad, Justin, played at Lakeside, graduating in 2002. He transferred to Lakeside to be closer to family, and he has two cousins — Charley and junior Corey Rivera — on the team. “They were giving me the shots and I just took them, and they were falling.”

“Liam’s always been a shooter,” Twoteeth said. “If he’s open, he’s going to hit it. And the kids know that, so they were trying to get him the ball.”

Potlatch actually shot the ball pretty well — 38% (18 of 47), including 6 of 15 from deep. Trouble was, Lakeside kept the Loggers at bay with points off turnovers (28-4).

“It doesn’t matter how much you practice against it, how many kids you put out there, we put extra kids out there to practice (against) the press and they run it well,” seventh-year Potlatch coach Ryan Ball said. “I could tell when I was watching them that that would be an issue for us, and it became an issue for us.”

“They (the players) say it’s not working, we have to get out of it,” Twoteeth said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, we’re speeding them up. Even if they take a bad shot, they’re playing into our pace, and that’s what we want. Even if we don’t get steals, they’re playing at a pace they don’t want to play.”

Potlatch 12 10 15 7 — 44

Lakeside 22 13 18 15 — 68

POTLATCH — C. Lovell 14, Marshall 0, Clark 2, Lusby 3, E. Lovell 12, Vowels 7, Morris 2, Bworn 0, Barnes 4, Keck 0, Amos 0. Totals 18-47 2-3 44.

LAKESIDE — Brown 15, SiJohn 10, Callahan 2, Rivera 0, Hall 6, Hendrickx 18, Charley 17. Totals 29-56 7-12 68.