Priest River 54, Newport 52

PRIEST RIVER — Senior guard Lucas Mathews rallied for a season-high 20 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and hit two free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining to lift the Spartans to a non-league win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Priest River High.

Mathews, who drained a three-pointer and hit a turnaround floater from the foul line with 1:23 to go in the fourth to cut the deficit to 51-49, also recorded five rebounds and three steals on the night. With the score tied 52-52 late, he stole a Newport inbounds pass, and after a series of timeouts and more inbounds, was fouled as the Grizzlies attempted to regain possession.

Senior Ian Lamanna recorded 10 points and came away with three steals as he drove the lane early and often in the thriller. Sophomore Madden Redinger added nine points, including a three-pointer, and had a team-high three assists for Priest River, which led 34-26 at halftime.

Junior Damien Hamberg had a game-high 24 points and hauled in seven rebounds for Newport, which outscored Priest River 26-20 in the second half. Junior Jamieson Oaks added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, now 0-3 on the year.

Senior Brady Hatten chipped in eight points, including an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game 52-52 with under 40 seconds to go, and six rebounds while sophomore Jacob Best collected seven points and seven boards for Priest River (1-1), which travels to Riverside High of Chattaroy, Wash. on Friday night for another non-league matchup and hosts Grangeville on Saturday for their 3A Central Idaho League opener.

Newport 11 15 15 11 — 52

Priest River 14 20 7 13 — 54

PTS: PR — Mathews 20, Lamanna 10, Redinger 9, Hatten 8, Best 7. NPT — Hamberg 24, Oaks 8, Shults 7, Martin III 7, Bilaski 4, Hunt 2.

REB: PR — Best 7, Hatten 6, Collins 5, Redinger 5, Mathews 5, Lamanna 4, Simcox 1, Strange 1. NPT — Oaks 11, Hamberg 7, Bilaski 6, Martin III 4, Shults 2, Hunt 2, Coston 1, Kennett 1.

AST: PR — Redinger 3, Mathews 1, Lamanna 1. NPT — Coston 3, Shults 2, Martin III 2, Brandtner 1, Hunt 1, Oaks 1, Bilaski 1.

STL: PR — Mathews 3, Lamanna 3, Best 2, Redinger 1, Hatten 1, Collins 1. NPT — Hunt 4, Coston 2, Martin III 2, Shults 1, Brandtner 1, Hamberg 1.

BLK: PR — Mathews 1, Hatten 1. NPT — Oaks 1, Bilaski 1.

Roos' late block helps Bulldogs seal tourney win

Sandpoint 51, Shelley 50

IDAHO FALLS — Senior forward Logan Roos neared a double-double with a team-high 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, one of which came on a Shelley three-point try with 15 seconds to go, as the Bulldogs held on for a one-point win over the Russets in their TitleOne Tip-off Classic tournament opener held Thursday morning at the Mountain America Center.

Roos, who was 5-for-9 from the field and had a three-pointer, played a big role under the basket as did junior Derrick Chamberlain, who had two blocks and scored six of his eight points in the third quarter, helping Sandpoint push their lead to 35-28 at one point with his efforts. Roos, with the Bulldogs ahead 41-39 in the fourth quarter, fought through contact to score a layup, and, unable to convert on the ensuing free throw, nabbed his own rebound for the putback and a 45-39 lead, which the Russets closed to 45-44 minutes later.

Junior Brock Yarbrough tallied nine points and five rebounds, junior Knox Williams seven points, including a three-pointer, and a team-high four assists, three steals, and five rebounds, and junior Logan Iverson and senior Tyler Weisz each had five points in the win for Sandpoint, which led 51-48 in the final moments of the contest before one last Russet three-point attempt.

"The kids came out and battled the entire time," coach Love said of his team, despite the long travel and all that comes with it. "They stuck together and did things down the stretch to win. Really proud of them... there are some things that we have to clean up, but I thought during that last stretch of time, especially that last possession, we played well. We gave up two points (after their final three-point attempt), but they didn't have a timeout... so under five seconds, we didn't have to inbound the basketball, and they understood that. Tyler Weisz did a great job on his closeout, to contest, but not foul."

Senior Landen Smith produced a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds for Shelley, which made five three-pointers — three of which came from junior Bridger Brunson.

Sandpoint (3-1) will face Star Valley of Afton, Wyo., which defeated Coeur d'Alene by a score of 62-32 in their opener, in a semifinals matchup on Friday afternoon.

Shelley 16 6 11 17 — 50

Sandpoint 15 10 13 13 — 51

PTS: SPT — Roos 13, Yarbrough 9, Chamberlain 8, Williams 7, Iverson 5, Weisz 5, Gion 3, Williams 1. SHY — Smith 13, Beck 13, Brunson 12, Remington 9, Cook 2, Crandall 1.

REB: SPT — Roos 9, Gion 5, Williams 5, Yarbrough 5, Iverson 4, Weisz 4, Chamberlain 1, Inge 1. SHY — Smith 11, Beck 5, Remington 3, Bennett 3, Crandall 2, Cook 1.

AST: SPT — Williams 4, Weisz 3, Yarbrough 2, Iverson 1, Roos 1. SHY — Brunson 4, Bennett 4, Remington 2, Smith 1, Crandall 1.

STL: SPT — Williams 3, Gion 2, Yarbrough 2, Roos 1, Chamberlain 1. SHY — Beck 3, Brunson 3, Remington 2, Brunson 2, Crandall 2, Smith 1.

BLK: SPT — Roos 3, Chamberlain 2, Williams 1, Yarbrough 1. SHY — Smith 1, Beck 1.

Howard powers Wampus Cats to another victory

Clark Fork 60, Mullan 24

MULLAN — It was another big game for forward Owen Howard.

The 6-foot-5-inch senior collected a double-double of 29 points and 18 rebounds to go along with five steals and three blocks as the Wampus Cats romped to a 36-point non-league win over the Tigers on Wednesday night at the Mullan Pavilion.

Howard, who was 14-for-21 from the floor, scored 19 of his 29 points in the second quarter and added two dunks to his totals in what was the team's second consecutive win. Senior Westin Caven recorded 11 points of his own, including a three-pointer, on 5-for-7 shooting and had four rebounds and three assists for Clark Fork, which built up a 42-14 lead by halftime.

"We're trying to build some game-time experience for the whole team that will benefit us later in the season," Clark Fork High head coach Stillman Berkley said, also noting that his starters played just half the game, cumulatively.

Junior Jesse Yanik had five points, including a three-pointer, and a career-high five assists in the victory while junior Mateo Cruz scored nine points, including a three-pointer of his own, and registered three steals on the night.

Freshman Kingston Hudson chipped in his first two career varsity points for Clark Fork (2-1), whose home game against the Kootenai Classical Academy Kodiaks set for Thursday night was canceled. The Wampus Cats will travel to Genesis Prep of Post Falls on Wednesday for a 2A Scenic Idaho Conference matchup.

Clark Fork 21 21 7 11 — 60

Mullan 8 6 8 2 — 24

PTS: CF — Howard 29, Caven 11, Cruz 9, Yanik 5, Scarlett 2, Gustafson 2, Hudson 2. MUL — Bosson 9, Sala 5, Ullrich 5, Imes 3, Clark 2.

REB: CF — Howard 18, Caven 4, Cruz 3, Scarlett 3, P. Stevens 3, Hudson 3, Gustafson 2, Yanik 1, Noble 1.

AST: CF — Yanik 5, Caven 3, Cruz 2, Scarlett 2, Howard 1, Hudson 1.

STL: CF — Howard 5, Cruz 3, Caven 1, P. Stevens 1, Scarlett 1, Gustafson 1.

BLK: CF — Howard 3, Cruz 1, Scarlett 1.