FIGHT FOR THE FISH: Lake City boys run past Coeur d'Alene; Viking girls rebound after strong start by Timberwolves

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

COEUR d’ALENE — Lake City’s boys basketball team has played in several different environments this season — from NBA arenas to high school gyms far away. 

But nothing like the madhouse Timberwolves junior Jordan Carlson and his teammates found themselves in Friday night at the conclusion of the 26th Fight for the Fish spirit basketball games with Coeur d’Alene.  

In front of a screaming, overflow crowd of roughly 2,800 at Lake City High, Carlson scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half as the T-Wolves battled past the Coeur d’Alene Vikings 73-55 in a game which also counted in the 6A Inland Empire League standings. 

Moments later, Carlson and his teammates celebrated with their fellow students when Lake City High was announced as the winner of the Fish for the fourth straight year, by a vote of the judges. 

“It’s amazing; it means a lot to us,” Carlson said. “Just everything the students do for us means a lot to us; it’s just great energy.”

“I think it’s the best thing ever for the kids, because they can’t hear me,” Lake City coach James Anderson said of the environment of the Fish game. “And they can’t hear their parents; they just get to play ball in front of their peers. It’s one of the more special parts of what we do.”

In the girls’ game, Lake City started strong, but Coeur d’Alene’s pressure and 32 points from junior Brookeslee Colvin began to take its toll in a 63-32 Viking victory. 

“We came out slow; we put in a couple of new defenses,” Coeur d'Alene coach Stacy Boyd said.  “We probably picked the wrong time to test them out, but it was OK, because I knew we would gain our composure and play with pace. Honestly, our girls are always excited and pumped up for the Fight for the Fish — I wish every game were Fight for the Fish because it puts us somewhere close to competing at the state level.” 

BOYS: The 6-foot-7 Carlson had 12 of his points in the first half, as Lake City (8-6, 1-0) took a 43-29 lead at halftime. 

It was enough for the T-Wolves to withstand a 28-point effort from Caden Symons of Coeur d’Alene (5-7, 0-2), the Evansville signee. 

“Just playing patient on two feet, and crashing the offensive boards, you know?” Carlson said of his early offensive production. “Caden’s a great player; props to him. Just doing our best to contain him, and trying to keep them off the boards.” 

With the game tied at 15, Lake City went on a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, leading 32-29, back-to-back hoops by senior Josh Watson triggered an 11-0 run that sent the Timberwolves into the locker room with a 43-29 lead. 

Lake City used extended pressure for much of the game, and it worked really well in spurts. 

“That is, in essence, basketball,” Anderson said. “You pressure for 32 minutes, but it really comes down to trying to create a two-minute breakdown where it can be a seven-point spread.” 

Watson finished with 11 points for Lake City. 

Symons, coming off a 39-point effort Tuesday at Post Falls, and a 53-point outburst last month in Las Vegas, was guarded most of Friday’s game by T-Wolf senior Jackson Bowman. 

“He’s guarded so many guys this year that are special talents — four-star guard after four-star guard,” Anderson said. “Caden brings his own set of challenges, and he’s really dug into those assignments. He’s pretty special.” 

Junior Davis Whittaker added 12 points for Coeur d’Alene, which got no closer than 12 points in the second half. 

“In the first half, I’ve got a lot of kids that have not played varsity basketball before this season, and they are not tough enough yet,” Coeur d’Alene coach Kent Leiss said. “We would force missed shots, and couldn’t get the rebound. That first basket of the game, Carlson just ripped it out of our hands and scored. 

“I was disappointed in the second half with our lack of patience; we didn’t want to run our offense,” Leiss said. 

Lake City plays host to Post Falls on Wednesday. 

Coeur d’Alene heads to western Washington for a pair of games next weekend, starting Friday at Lake Washington in Kirkland. 

Coeur d’Alene     17    12    8    8    —    55 

Lake City    24    19    18    12    —    73 

COEUR d’ALENE — McCall 0, Fagan 4, Braga 0, Stern 7, Wright 0, Symons 28, Whittaker 12, Stevens 4. 

LAKE CITY — Williams 8, Oxenrider 0, Winey 5, Plummer 10, Carlson 21, Everson 0, Watson 11, Bowman 4, Hill 0, Anderson 8, Pearson 6, Irgens 0, Frazier 0, Johnston 0, Smith 0. 

GIRLS: Colvin picked up her second personal foul with 6:13 left in the second quarter. 

Some coaches choose to sit their players for the rest of the half after two fouls. 

Colvin didn’t even look to the bench, where Boyd, in a red shirt, maroon pants, black vest and a wig attempting his best impersonation of Michael Jackson, didn’t budge either. 

“One thing about Brookeslee; I’m never worried about her being in foul trouble,” Boyd said. “She’s a high-level Division I player. With that said, she’s smart, she plays smart. There was a time she played with four fouls (in the first half), so two fouls is nothing to her. I always tell her, if you’re smart enough to get into that position, you’ve got to be smart enough to get out of it.” 

Colvin, who holds scholarship offers from nearly 30 schools, had 13 points at that point. She requests to guard the other team’s best player — in this case, Lake City senior Ella Pearson. Colvin scored eight more the rest of the half, and the Vikings were on their way. 

“He has a lot of trust in me, and I respect that from him,” Colvin said. “I was just trying to do my job. It was a little bit of a shaky start, but we were just settling in.” 

Colvin finished with eight 3-pointers, some from near where the coaches usually stand on the sideline. Senior Karisa Wallis added 10 points for Coeur d’Alene (14-2, 2-0), sophomore Lexie Wheeler eight. 

Pearson scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half for Lake City (6-8, 0-1). She had seven of her points in the first 3 ½ minutes as the Timberwolves jumped out to a 12-5 lead. 

The Vikings closed the quarter on an 8-0 run, seven of those points from Colvin for a 13-12 lead, and Coeur d’Alene never trailed again, building its lead to 41-20 at halftime and expanding the lead to 30 late in the third quarter. 

“I was really proud of our kids coming out and getting after it,” Lake City coach David Pratt said. “We followed our game plan perfectly in the first six minutes. We came out, played aggressively and did a good job on both ends of the court. It was exciting to see.” 

Coeur d’Alene travels to Sandpoint on Tuesday. 

Lake City plays host to Post Falls on Wednesday. 

Coeur d’Alene     13    28    16    6    —    63 

Lake City        12    8    9    3    —    32 

COEUR d’ALENE — Yates 0, Wheeler 11, Brown 5, Wallis 10, Colvin 32, Shafer 2, Bowmer 0, Semprimoznik 3, Reardon 0, Stevens 0. 

LAKE CITY — Kolden 4, Hildenbrand 3, Pearson 16, Baltzell 3, Brouse 0, Johnston 6, Johnson 0. 

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lake City junior Jordan Carlson slams the ball through the basket during the second half of Friday's Fight for the Fish spirit game against Coeur d'Alene at Lake City High.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lake City junior guard Ella Pearson attempts to save the ball from going out of bounds as Coeur d'Alene freshman Payton Brown and Lake City's KaeLee Kolden look on during Friday's Fight for the Fish spirit game at Lake City High.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Coeur d'Alene senior guard Karisa Wallis shoots over Lake City defender Taylor Brouse during the second half of Friday's Fight for the Fish spirit game at Lake City High.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Members of the Lake City student body celebrate after capturing 'The Fish' at the end of the spirit basketball games against Coeur d'Alene at Lake City High on Friday.