Spartans rally in fourth quarter to down Post Falls JV, improve to 3-1

PRIEST RIVER — Four games, seven days.

That's the task Priest River boys basketball faced in its opening week of play, and the Spartans came away with three victories.

The latest came in dramatic fashion Tuesday night against Post Falls JV. The Spartans went on a 14-0 run to close the game and captured a 57-52 comeback victory over the Trojans.

Priest River trailed by about 10 points for most of the game, but in the final four minutes the Spartans flipped the switch.

"We're a young team ... so we're still trying to figure out who we are as a team," head coach Kevin Wylie said, "and what everybody can do and so we are going to have nights where we're not clicking together as an offense and maybe our communication on defense isn't there every single possession, but we told the guys midway through the fourth quarter when we started to make a few stops on defense, 'If you make this about defense and you focus in on the defensive end and just get stops, you're going to give yourselves a chance to win this game.'"

The Spartans did just that and Wylie believes this victory could set the tone for the rest of the season.

"The kids fought hard," he said.

Priest River outscored Post Falls JV 21-5 in the fourth quarter and the team knocked down five 3-pointers in the frame, three of which came from junior Jordan Nortz.

Trentyn Kreager continued his hot start to the season, scoring 22 points.

"Even though he is a junior, he's phenomenal in everything that he does for us," Wylie said. "A lot of kids feed off of him and what he does."

Nortz finished with 16 points and Travis Mathews added 8.

Priest River opened the season last Wednesday at home against Wallace and their high-powered offense allowed them to soar to a 80-64 win. Mathews and Kreager combined for 43 points.

First-game jitters were not an issue for the Spartans.

"I'm really happy with how they played," Wylie said after the game. "It was honestly a lot better than I kind of anticipated. I kind of figured we'd have some nerves, especially with no crowd and fans, but they responded very well."

The Spartans heated up in the second half of the game and so did Mathews. He hit a trio of 3-pointers and Priest River scored 46 points to cruise past the Miners.

Kreager led the team with 24 points and 11 rebounds and Mathews finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

Wylie said Kreager and Mathews are great leaders and their play in the season opener didn't surprise him.

"They set the tone for everybody else," he said. "They've taken the program under control and are doing everything. It makes my job so much easier because they're the ones keeping every player accountable."

Jordan Nortz had 14 points and three steals and his younger brother, Dylan Nortz, added 8 points in the game. Sophomore Jace Yount tallied 10 points and nine rebounds and sophomore Luke Butler racked up six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and drilled a 3-pointer.

Two days later, the Spartans faced the Miners again in their opening game at the Silver Valley Tournament at Wallace High.

Priest River built a 33-12 halftime lead and held off the Miners down the stretch to secure a 61-54 victory.

Kreager scored 18 points, Butler and Jordan Nortz each had 12 and Yount added 11.

With the win, the Spartans advanced to the tournament championship game on Saturday against Intermountain League rival Kellogg. The Wildcats handed Priest River its first loss, 67-44.

Kreager led the team with 17 points and Yount added 10.

Priest River (3-1) travels to Clark Fork 7 p.m. Friday.

Post Falls JV 15 14 18 5 — 52

Priest River 12 7 17 21 — 57

POST FALLS JV — Smith 7, Naylor 17, Shields 3, McCarthy 14, Tebbe 0, Jacobsen 2, Bowie 2, Cooper 2, Summers 5.

PRIEST RIVER — Mathews 8, Butler 3, J. Nortz 16, Kreager 22, Marinello 0, Bernes 0, D. Nortz 5, Yount 3.