Wampus Cats win state tourney opener
CALDWELL - Plan A was not working so well for Clark Fork, but fortunately for the Wampus Cats, Plan B wasn't a bad alternative.
Clark Fork switched to a man-to-man defense and slowed the game down, then pounded the ball inside to wear down the smaller Oakley Hornets 61-49 in the first round of the state 1A boys basketball tournament Wednesday night at Caldwell High.
“At the beginning of the game, they were a lot quicker than us,” said Clark Fork junior post Jared Broggi, who totaled 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. “They were a lot smaller, scrappy team. We had to not try to get in a run-and-gun game with them, we had to slow down. After awhile we tightened up on defense and were more poised on offense. Getting stuff inside created a lot easier game for us.”
Clark Fork (18-4) will play the winner of Wednesday's late game between Lapwai and Garden Valley in a semifinal matchup tonight at 7 PST.
The Wampus Cats started out in a zone, and also tried a 1-3-1 press and a half-court trap. But the smaller, sharpshooting Hornets found that to their liking, and opened up a 25-17 lead midway through the second quarter.
Clark Fork switched to a man-to-man, and briefly took the lead before Oakley scored just before the half to lead 30-29 at intermission.
Oakley went up by five early in the second half, then Clark Fork worked the ball inside to Broggi on three straight possessions, and the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder scored three straight times to give the Wampus Cats a lead they would not relinquish.
“I thought we were a lot more composed in the second half,” Clark Fork coach Brian Powell said. “The first half, we looked real tight.”
Oakley (15-10) pulled within 47-43 with 5:38 to play, but managed just one point over the next four minutes as the Wampus Cats pulled away.
Oakley shot 13 of 31 (41.9 percent) from the floor in the first half, but just 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from the field in the second half.
Clark Fork, meanwhile, worked the ball quickly and well through Oakley's zone defense. The Wampus Cats shot 24 of 47 (51.1 percent) from the field, after overcoming a shaky first quarter in which they committed eight of their 20 turnovers.
Broggi finished 8 for 13 from the floor.
“Jared's had a real good season, especially the back half of the season,” Powell said. He's got really good hands, and he's gotten quicker this year so he moves a lot better, and he's stayed out of foul trouble, which has allowed him to play more.”
Senior Drew Wilkinson had four assists to go with his 15 points. Point guard Mike Martin had seven steals, five rebounds and three assists to go with his 16 points. Thomas McMahon had five rebounds and three assists, and Brian Baugh had nine points.
Sophomore Payson Bedke hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 18 points for Oakley. He hit three of those 3s in the second quarter. Colton Bedke added 11 points and Spencer Peterson, 6-4 but quite a bit lighter than Broggi inside, added nine.
“The first half we were getting frustrated and they were all smiles, having fun,” Broggi said. “And in the second half when we started pulling away they were getting frustrated.”
Oakley 15 15 10 9 - 49
Clark Fork 12 17 18 14 - 61
OAKLEY - P. Bedke 18, C. Wadsworth 0, C. Bedke 11, M. Pickett 6, Washburn 0, Peterson 9, Greenwell 5. Totals 20-57 5-7 49.
CLARK FORK - Martin 16, Young 1, McMahon 4, Baugh 9, Wilkinson 15, Chowing 0, Broggi 16. Totals 24-47 13-18 61.
n Wallace downs ShoBan 1A opener
Darrick Holmquist dropped in a game-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds, and Jared Bilaski added 15 points and 11 boards as North Star League runner up Wallace (17-6) beat ShoBan 50-48 Wednesday at Vallivue High School.
The Miners will face Genessee today in the second round of the 1A state tournament.