Priest River nearly notches first win in double-overtime thriller

PRIEST RIVER ­— The Spartans had several chances to pull off an upset, double-overtime win against a 13-5 North Idaho Christian team for their first win of the year.

And the Royals had several chances to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

NIC had 34, to be exact.

Despite going 12-46 from the free-throw line — including 6-19 from the stripe in both overtime periods — the Royals gutted out a 52-50 double-overtime, non-league win on Thursday night.

“We fought hard,” Priest River head coach Wylie said. “But offensively, it was hard to get into a rhythm with all the fouls on the other end. Any time you put a team on the line 46 times, you should lose a game.”

The Royals, who were in the bonus for the final 15 minutes of game-play, struggled from the line until it mattered most. Senior guard Cross Pilgrim’s game-high 25 points led the way, including six of NIC’s eight points in the second overtime.

Getting to double-overtime required plenty of missed free-throws, a Spartan comeback from down seven points, some unexpected heroes and a bit of luck at the end of regulation.

“Some guys stepped up when we got into foul trouble and really helped us,” Wylie said. “We know we can count on these guys to play.”

Junior guard Jantzen Lucas stepped up early in the first quarter by making plays on both ends of the floor. In a sequence that foreshadowed the ensuing calamity, Lucas stole the ball, led the break, nearly got it stripped underneath Priest River’s basket, yet recovered to make his first points of the night.

Players like Lucas would be paramount as first Caden Brennan, then Robbie Anselmo and Brandon McCracken fouled out in overtime. Fellow reserve Cameron Bell —who was following the lead of Brennan’s 12 second-half points — three to start the fourth quarter sparked the Spartans’ resurgence in the fourth to force overtime.

“[Bell and Lucas] played with confidence,” Wylie said. “They came into a game that was pretty chippy and tight, and they handled it very well. It shows that they haven’t given up and they’ve kept fighting.”

Brennan’s 14 point, 11 rebound double-double led the Spartans, while McCracken added 11 points.

Priest River (0-10, 0-2 IML) will host Newport on Friday, then travel to Sandpoint on Saturday. NIC moved to 14-5 with the win.

NI. Christian 6 12 15 5 6 8 — 52

Priest River 13 5 13 7 6 6 — 50

NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN — C. Pilgrim 25, W. Pilgrim 4, Holmes 13, Middlemore 2, Connelly, McKee 0, Tomes 0, Connelly 4, Kelly 4.

PRIEST RIVER — Anselmo 1, Hegel 6, Brennan 14, Mathews 2, McCracken 11, Lucas 8, Kreager 2, Zapfe 0, Bell 6,