PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: St. Maries snatches district title

ST. MARIES — After a one-year blip, the St. Maries Lumberjacks are back in their usual role as 3A District 1-2 boys basketball champions. 

Senior JJ Yearout’s putback of a missed shot broke a tie with 5 seconds left, and top-seeded St. Maries edged the second-seeded Orofino Maniacs 48-46 in the district championship game Wednesday night at St. Maries High. 

It was the 11th district title in the last 12 seasons for St. Maries, which was upset in the first round at districts last year, then lost in a state play-in game.

This year, the Lumberjacks (18-3) are headed back to state for the first time since 2024; state is scheduled for March 5-7 at Meridian High. St. Maries is No. 1 in the latest MaxPreps rankings, which is used to seed the state tournament. The Lumberjacks will likely learn their first-round foe Sunday. 

“I just didn’t feel comfortable in this game at all; we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, we missed a ton of free throws, we missed layups,” 12th-year St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. “But we somehow found a way to win when it mattered most. Our seniors had a refuse-to-lose attitude.” 

Yearout finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for St. Maries. Senior Xavier Sloper added 10 points and five boards, and Isaiah Gustaffe had nine points and five caroms. 

Senior Hudson Schneider scored 15 points for Orofino (17-5), which plays host to third seed Kellogg (12-11) on Friday at 6 for the district’s second berth to state. Kellogg beat fourth seed Priest River (5-15) 66-49 in a loser-out game. 

Orofino hit 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first half and led by as much as 10 points before settling for a 30-23 halftime lead. 

Gustaffe scored a couple quick baskets as St. Maries began the second half on a 9-0 run, capped by a runout by Yearout after a turnover, and the Lumberjacks were up 32-30. 

The game went back and forth from there, before senior Brock Barta hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline to put St. Maries up 44-43 with 1:53 left.  

Orofino answered with a basket and free throw, then Yearout penetrated and found Gustaffe under the hoop for a basket to tie it at 46 with 45 seconds left. 

With the Maniacs working for the go-ahead shot, St. Maries senior Jack Barta came up with the steal, fed ahead to twin brother Brock, who missed a driving layup attempt, but Yearout was right behind for the go-ahead putback. 

“Just a gritty win,” Chase said. “They (the Maniacs) played a great first half, shot the ball well. We did a much better job in the second half; they were 1 for 10 from 3. We just had a little bigger urgency and a better defensive focus to get to their shooters. 

"It wasn’t pretty, but we willed our way to a win,” Chase added. “We knew with our full-court pressure we could wear them down, we thought it could pay dividends down the stretch, and it did.” 

Orofino     17    13    8    8    —    46 

St. Maries     13    10    12    13    —    48 

OROFINO — Runia 12, Bonner 9, Schneider 15, Barlow 4, Naranjo 6, Connolly 0. 

ST. MARIES — Harold 0, J. Barta 6, Yearout 15, Gustaffe 9, B. Barta 4, Riberich 2, Speakman 2, Sloper 10. 

Kellogg 66 

Priest River 49 

KELLOGG — Junior Andrew Lewis hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to spark a 22-6 run for the third-seeded Wildcats, who eliminated the fourth-seeded Spartans in a 3A District 1 loser-out game at Andrews Gymnasium. 

“Priest River came ready to go,” Kellogg coach Mike Martin said. “They had some guys that hit some shots and were playing as well as they have all year. Our guys just never wavered and stayed the course and started knocking down some shots.” 

Kellogg (12-11) travels to second-seeded Orofino (17-5) in the second-place game on Friday at 6 p.m., with that winner advancing to the state tournament starting next Thursday at Meridian High. 

“It’s what we wanted,” Martin said. “We knew we’d have to go through Orofino or St. Maries to get to state.” 

Junior Evan Vindasius scored 16 points and senior Cayden Honnerlaw added 13 points for Kellogg, which outscored Priest River 18-7 down the stretch. 

Senior Brady Hatten scored 16 points for Priest River, which finishes 5-15. 

Priest River    11    16    15    7    —    49 

Kellogg        13    19    22    12    —    66 

PRIEST RIVER — Matthews 6, Lamanna 4, Redinger 6, Best 8, Simcox 3, Collins 4, Hatton 18, Strange 0. 

KELLOGG — Coburn 2, McDonald 10, Taylor 11, A. Lewis 0, Bowman 0, P. Lewis 7, Honnerlaw 13, Reed 0, Cheney 7, Vindasius 16, Kimstayton 0.