PREP BASKETBALL: Coleman hits game-winning three to lift Priest River boys over Timberlake

Priest River 51, Timberlake 50

PRIEST RIVER — Priest River junior Palmer Coleman knocked down a game-winning 3-pointer from just past half court to lift the Spartans to a 51-50 victory over the visiting Tigers at Priest River Lamanna High on Tuesday.

The Spartans trailed by two points, 50-48 with five and a half seconds remaining. Timberlake’s Tyler Engelson, who originally attended Priest River, was at the free throw line for the Tigers. Engelson, who scored a game-high 17 points, missed both shots. After the second miss, Carter Cook grabbed the rebound and passed it to Coleman. With the team’s fate now in the hands of one player, Coleman took a handful of dribbles and heaved up a shot — the shot bounced off the front iron, off the backboard and in — the crowd erupted.

“For me, it was the most exciting singular moment I’ve had as a coach so far,” head coach Jaden Barrett said. “I drew up a play for if he (Engelson) made the free throw, which would have put them up three, and told Palmer if he missed just get it and go quick.”

It indeed made its way into the hands of Coleman, just like Barrett had planned.

“He took three-four dribbles and pulled up from about 40 feet; it felt like all of the air got sucked out of the gym while the ball was in the air. It felt like it took 10 seconds to go in. Once it fell, I could not believe it. We all rushed him and then dogpiled him on the court.”

Overall, the Spartans had an off shooting night, finishing 3-for-32 from the 3-point line, which made that once in a lifetime moment even more special.

“I was so happy for him,” Barrett said. “It was a special moment for all of us as a team and hopefully gives us some much needed momentum going into the latter part of the season.”

Barrett said it was one of Coleman’s best games of the season. Coleman scored a team-high 16 points and also added five assists, eight rebounds and a handful of steals.

“He just dictated the pace of the game and was all over the court,” Barrett said. “He has all the makings of a great point guard and I think people really saw that on Tuesday.”

In addition to Coleman’s stellar performance, Cook also scored an impressive 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Brady Hatten went 3-for-3 from the floor and finished with eight points.

Priest River (3-8, 1-3) will host Grangeville on Saturday.

Timberlake 12 18 11 9 – 50

Priest River 10 13 10 18 – 51

PTS: PR – Coleman 16, Cook 15, Hatten 8, Kreager 4, Staudt 3, Stifel 2, Mathews 2, Korff 1. TML – Engelson 17, Yetter 9, Meidinger 7, Dorman 6, Higgins 5, Dykeman 4, McDougall 2.