One of Idaho’s best ever? Lake City makes its case with undefeated season, 5A state title
The comeback story is complete.
A year after getting upset in the first round, No. 1 Lake City finished its revenge tour at the 5A boys basketball state tournament with a 75-61 win over Meridian in the championship game Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
The victory placed Lake City (26-0) among Idaho royalty as the first 5A team to finish undefeated since Capital in 2014. The Timberwolves dominated throughout the season, winning 25 of those 26 games by double digits, including a 12-point win at Curtis, the back-to-back state champ in Washington’s largest classification.
“It’s tough to go undefeated, but we did it,” Lake City senior forward Blake Buchanan said. “I think we’re one of the best teams to be (from) Idaho. With the guys that we had and the adversity we faced, we just got it done.”
Buchanan led the way again Saturday, posting a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 11-for-18 from the floor. The 6-11 Virginia signee finished the weekend with three straight double-doubles and provided the Timberwolves with a security blanket when they needed it most.
Meridian (16-12) started the game on fire with a 9-2 run, led 18-15 after the first quarter and threatened to extend its Cinderella run all the way to a title. But Lake City weathered the storm by feeding the ball to Buchanan and slowly but surely pulled away.
“We just said, ‘They need a heavy diet of him,’ and that’s what we did,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “We ran everything through Blake for almost three quarters, and he was tired at the end. But we just couldn’t take him out.
“He’s an ACC player going to Virginia, and he showed why tonight.”
Buchanan had plenty of help on a loaded roster, though. Nathan Hocking, who has signed to play at the NAIA level, erupted for 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Idaho State signee Kolton Mitchell added seven points, and future Idaho linebacker Zach Johnson also chipped in seven.
But for all the hype, one hole remained on Lake City’s roster: a state title.
Centennial stunned Lake City in the first round last year as the No. 8 seed. So no matter how many opponents Lake City blew out or how many road trips it made out of state, the Timberwolves never could truly call themselves great.
Until now.
“They wanted to show people what they’re about,” Winger said. “Last year, we got tight and made some mistakes. That’s not who they are. They haven’t been that way their entire lives, and they were on a mission from day one.”
No. 7 Meridian needed to win a play-in game just to make it to state. But the Warriors knocked off defending champ Owyhee and 5A SIC regular-season champ Mountain View to make it back to the finals.
Meridian looked like it had one more upset in the chamber. But leading scorer Ryan Baker went to the bench with his third foul with 1:08 left in the first quarter, and fellow starter Max Gwilliam also missed large chunks of the first half with foul trouble, taking the wind out of Meridian’s sails.
“Ryan got in foul trouble, and that hurt,” Meridian coach Jeff Sanor said. “They went to that zone, and we didn’t handle that. They got some turnovers when they went to that trapping zone. So we made an adjustment at halftime, but that was a little too late.
“The start of the game, that’s who we are. It’s just, in the end, they were better for longer than we were.”
Baker led Meridian with 14 points despite limited minutes. Josh Christensen added 10 points, and Nate Reynolds and Duncan Pierce both chipped in eight.
But on a night where the Warriors needed to be perfect, they ran out of steam after the early blitz.
“Our kids played their hearts out, and they gave us everything they possibly could,” Sanor said. “Honestly, if we won, I’d be telling you the same thing.”
MOUNTAIN VIEW FINISHES THIRD: A balanced scoring attack and efficient offense propelled the Mavericks to the third-place trophy with a 59-41 win over District Five-Six champ Madison (19-8) on Saturday at Ridgevue High. It was Mountain View’s first state tournament trophy since 2011.
Mountain View’s five starters did all of its scoring. Owen McBride and Logan Haustveit had 14 points apiece, Dyson Judd 12, Camden Hyde 10 and Dawson Wahl 9. The Mavs shot 54% (22-for-41) from the floor.
No. 3 Mountain View (21-6) led by eight points at halftime and built that margin steadily the rest of the way.
Nash Humpherys led Madison with 14 points.
OWYHEE BRINGS HOME TROPHY: Liam Campbell scored 22 points, feasting at the free-throw line, as the defending state champs won Saturday’s consolation bracket final 57-49 over Eagle at Ridgevue High.
Campbell, the only Storm player in double figures, was 13-for-14 on free throws to help No. 2 Owyhee (21-6) defeat the Mustangs for the third time this season in as many games.
Landon White led Eagle (17-11) with 19 points, and Russell Gibson added 11.
Owyhee led the entire game and by as many as 10 points. The Storm got 18 bench points to back Campbell’s effort.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
HILLCREST REPEATS: Isaac Davis got ejected from Saturday’s state championship. But no one minded.
The reigning 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year punctuated the Knights’ 62-58 win over Pocatello with a thunderous two-handed dunk with 3.6 seconds left. He swung from the rim, earning his second technical of the night and an automatic ejection. But instead of sulking to the bench, he headed toward the student section and pointed to his ring finger, asking for more jewelry.
“It was, for sure, worth it,” the 6-7 junior said with a laugh.
Davis led the comeback for the No. 1 Knights (25-1), who trailed by 10 points midway through the third quarter. Hillcrest rallied by getting the ball into Davis’ hands in the paint, letting the big man distribute to open shooters or back down any overmatched defender.
The four-star recruit finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals. He either scored or had the assist on 13 of the Knights’ 18 points in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve said many times, he’s just one of the best passers that we have,” Hillcrest coach Dave Austin said. “... He’s had tremendous growth this year. Tremendous.”
The comeback overshadowed another explosive game from Pocatello (25-3) junior guard Julian Bowie. The Boise State commit nearly single-handedly carried his team to a title, pouring in 39 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
He finished the weekend averaging 29.7 points per game, setting a new 4A state tournament record.
SKYVIEW FALLS IN THIRD-PLACE GAME: After losing on a 3-pointer in overtime Friday, Blackfoot stepped up to take the third-place trophy with a 69-46 rout of Skyview on Saturday at Rocky Mountain High.
The Hawks (19-9) got 16 points from Eloy Chaparro but were blown out in the second half after trailing 27-22 at intermission. The Broncos (17-9) had a 15-0 run and outscored Skyview 27-7 in the third quarter to take control. Their largest lead was 28 points.
Javonte King continued his outstanding state tourney with a 28-point, 10-rebound performance, and Ryan Reynolds added 17 points for Blackfoot.
Earlier in the day, Twin Falls (17-10) beat rival Minico 32-30 for the consolation trophy.
3A STATE TOURNAMENT
SUGAR BACK ON TOP: A 52-47 win over Bonners Ferry allowed Sugar-Salem to finish the year on a 14-game winning streak for their third title in the past five years.
No. 2 Sugar-Salem (23-3) forced 17 turnovers and led throughout the second half. Koy Sanderson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Zac Dougherty added nine points and six rebounds.
Thomas Bateman scored 10 points to lead No. 1 Bonners Ferry (23-2), which made the finals for the first time.
FRUITLAND WINS CONSOLATION TITLE: With a 50-point first half – 33 of those coming in the second quarter – Fruitland (16-11) rolled past Buhl 67-51 to take the consolation trophy at Meridian High.
Luke Barinaga scored 17 points and Eddie Rodriguez 13 for the Grizzlies, who led by as many as 27 points. Fruitland, which last won a state trophy when it finished third in 2020, shot 55% from the floor (23-for-55) and made nearly half of its 3-pointers (15-for-31).
Barinaga made five 3’s, and Rodriguez and Brody Watson each made three.
Teton also beat Snake River 68-58 for the third-place trophy.
