PR Roundup: Spartan boys bid farewell to 6 seniors
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE) Sophomore Travis Mathews looks to attack the rim during the game Tuesday against Kellogg.
PRIEST RIVER — The Priest River boys basketball team gave Kellogg everything they could handle. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were able to take it and withstand the Spartans for three quarters before taking over in the fourth en route to a 67-50 victory Tuesday night.
The final scoreline didn’t reflect how tight the game was throughout.
“The last two weeks we’ve kind of gotten back into our rhythm,” head coach Kevin Wylie said, “and really started to play good basketball so we’re only going to get stronger and that’s what we’ve been doing. We knew Kellogg was going to be tough, we knew they were going to be relentless all the way through in their defensive end. We’ve just got to have four more minutes of a fight in us and we’ll win that game.”
On senior night, sophomore Trentyn Kreager stepped up and had a career night tallying 27 points, seven rebounds and two blocks but it wasn’t enough as Kellogg’s Graden Nearing matched Kreager’s effort, notching 26 points and five rebounds.
Priest River rolled out with an all senior starting lineup of Jayden Hahn, Cameron Bell, Jantzen Lucas, Caden Brennan and Cole Thompson. The other Spartan senior, Ben Zapfe, is out for the season with an injury.
“I started coaching those seniors in sixth grade with an AAU program that we started,” Wylie said, “and then as they went through junior high I was up here at the high school so I got to watch those guys really grow into great players and great kids ... and I told them at the beginning of this season that they were the tone setters to reboot and rebuild this program.
I’ve got a special bond with those guys, we’re definitely going to miss them.”
After starting slow and falling behind 13-1 in the opening minutes, the Spartans battled back to only trail by 5 points after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Priest River heated up and knocked down a handful of 3-pointers to pull within 1 point late in the half.
Kellogg took a 33-29 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Priest River took its first lead of the night when Kreager drilled a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 34-33 advantage.
Priest River held onto the lead until the final minute of the quarter when Kellogg pulled ahead and took a 45-44 advantage into the final quarter.
But the fourth didn’t treat the Spartans nicely as turnovers and missed free throws doomed them and allowed the Wildcats to outscore Priest River 22-6 in the quarter.
The Spartans (7-13, 1-5 IML) will head to No. 1 seed Kellogg in the first round of the 3A District 1 tournament at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Lady Spartans fall to Bonners Ferry in district tourney, season comes to an end
The season is officially over for the Priest River girls basketball team after losing to No. 3 seed Bonners Ferry 46-21 in a 3A District 1 loser-out game last Wednesday.
It was the third time the Spartans lost to the Badgers this year, but in their first two games during the regular season Priest River lost by a combined score of 125-57.
This time around, the Spartans were able to remain within striking distance early and only trailed by 5 points after the first quarter. Unfortunately, Priest River didn’t get any depth scoring as senior Karah Fink scored 15 points but the rest of the Spartans only tallied 6.
The team finishes the season winless in Intermountain League play and with a 5-16 record. Fink was also named to the all-IML team.
Priest River will have to replace six seniors next season including their leading scorer who was a double-double machine all year.
Holycross concludes indoor track season
Priest River senior Teagun Holycross competed in the Simplot Games this past Friday and Saturday at Idaho State University with his team at the Spokane Speed Academy Track and Field Club.
Holycross ran the anchor leg of the 4x200 meter relay and the third leg of the 4x400 relay. In prelims, Holycross’s team ran the fastest time in the 4x200 and second fastest in the 4x400. In the finals, the Spokane Speed captured third in the 4x200 and fourth in the 4x400.
This was the final indoor event for Holycross this year as he gets ready for the start of the high school season in March.
Wrestling gears up for districts
Priest River wrestling will battle for a district title this Saturday at the 3A District 1 championships at Lakeland High School.