Wednesday, January 22, 2025
23.0°F

PREP BASKETBALL: Cruz, Caven lead Clark Fork boys to first win of season

by MAX OSWALD
Sports Reporter | January 14, 2025 9:30 PM

BOYS

Clark Fork 52, Mullan 11

CLARK FORK — Sophomore Mateo Cruz and junior Westin Caven both notched double-doubles and the host Wampus Cats pulled out a 41-point victory over the Tigers — their first win of the season — in a non-league contest held Tuesday at Clark Fork High.

Caven finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five steals while Cruz had 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and five blocks for Clark Fork, which led 34-8 at halftime.

"It feels good," Clark Fork High head coach Stillman Berkley said of the team's first win. "Mullan is having a lot of the same issues as we are as far as injuries, number of players, etc. It was a good matchup for us and our guys tried to clean up a lot of things, especially turnovers... that was the main goal for tonight. Westin did a good job controlling the tempo."

Berkley said he was happy to get some of his newer players on the court, including sophomore Tom Butler, who pulled in two boards in his first time ever stepping foot on a basketball court. Sophomore Jesse Yanik also saw considerable minutes and dished out a team-high four assists.

Junior Peyton Stevens added seven points for the Wampus Cats, junior Owen Howard two in just a couple of minutes of playing time. He'll look to return to the lineup in full later this week with a couple of big games on the horizon.

Clark Fork (1-5) heads to Noxon on Thursday.

Mullan 2 6 3 2 — 11

Clark Fork 15 19 12 6 — 52

PTS: CF —Caven 23, Cruz 16, Stevens 7, Yanik 2, Adams 2, Howard 2. MUL — Imes 7, Sala 2, Morgan 2.

REB: CF — Caven 12, Cruz 11, Stevens 3, Butler 2, Howard 2, Adams 2, Yanik 1. MUL — Imes 8, Ullrich 3, Bosson 3, Morgan 1, Calvert 1.

AST: CF — Yanik 4, Cruz 2, Caven 2, Adams 1. MUL — Calvert 1.

STL: CF — Cruz 5, Caven 5, Yanik 3, Stevens 1, Adams 1. MUL — Sala 2, Imes 1, Morgan 1.

BLK: CF — Cruz 5. MUL — None.

Jones stays hot for Bulldogs

Sandpoint 58, St. Maries 38

ST. MARIES — Emerik Jones continues to deliver for the Bulldogs.

The senior dropped 24 points, 16 in the second half, and drained three 3-pointers for Sandpoint, which claimed a 20-point non-league win over the host Lumberjacks on Tuesday.

Junior Kingston Corbett recorded 13 points and Brock Yarbrough hit four 3-pointers for a total of 12 points for the Bulldogs, which used a 35-19 second half scoring advantage to defeat St. Maries, who's ranked fourth in 3A.

Sophomores Logan Iverson and Knox Williams hit 3-pointers for Sandpoint.

Sandpoint (4-7), which has won three straight, hosts Lakeland on Friday as part of the last game of the Battle for the Paddle spirit event.

Sandpoint 12 11 21 14 — 58

St. Maries 11 8 13 6 — 38

PTS: SPT — Jones 24, Corbett 13, Yarbrough 12, Williams 3, Iverson 3, Gion 2, Leisy 1. SM — Yearout 9, Gustaffe 9, L. Riberich 6, J. Barta 5, Harold 3, T. Riberich 2, B. Barta 2, Sexton 2.

Kootenai Thunder 52, Christian Heritage 16

COCOLALLA — Dylan Day extended his double-digit scoring streak to three games on Thursday, scoring 19 points, 15 in the first half, as the Thunder rebounded with a 36-point victory over Christian Heritage.

Marshall Peters tallied 12 points, Malachi Duchow seven for the Thunder, which had more total points (19) in the first quarter than the Patriots' final tally.

Rowan Palmer added six points, Melkam Manning four points and a team-high three steals.

The Kootenai Thunder (8-4) will travel to Pullman Christian today.

Thunder Stats Only.

PTS: KT — Day 19, Peters 12, Duchow 7, Palmer 6, Manning 4, Peterson 2, Hernandez-Ortega 2.

REB: KT — Hernandez-Ortega 8, Day 6, Peterson 5, Manning 4, Peters 4, Duchow 4, Palmer 2, Zumuda 2.

AST: KT — Day 2, Manning 1, Hernandez-Oretga 1, Peterson 1.

STL: KT — Manning 3, Palmer 2, Zumuda 2, Day 2, Hernandez-Ortega 1, Peterson 1, Duchow 1.

BLK: KT — Day 1, Zumuda 1, Peterson 1, Duchow 1.

GIRLS

Coeur d'Alene 62, Sandpoint 40

SANDPOINT — Sophomore Livia Driggs nailed two 3-pointers en route to 10 total points, but the host Lady Bulldogs came up short of the Lady Vikings on Tuesday night in a 6A/5A Inland Empire League contest.

"Coeur d'Alene got out to a hot start; we struggled against their press," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said. "Brookslee Colvin is such a dynamic player... based off the game that they played against Lake City, we knew they were coming into form."

Colvin had 14 for Coeur d'Alene, which is ranked fifth in 6A and led 43-16 at halftime.

Love said was he pleased with his girls for responding well in the second half. Sandpoint outscored Coeur d'Alene 12-7 in the final frame.

"We had several players make good plays in that second half," coach Love said. "We actually had a nice run in the fourth where we got out in transition. We'll regroup and start planning for Friday, that's going to be a pretty key game."

Sandpoint (7-9) will host Lakeland on Friday as part of the first game of the Battle for the Paddle spirit event. 

Coeur d'Alene 23 20 12 7 — 62

Sandpoint 4 12 12 12 — 40

PTS: SPT — L. Driggs 10, Tomco 7, Thaete 6, Ch. Laybourne 5, Mire 4, M. Driggs 3, Ca. Laybourne 3, D. Driggs 2. CDA — Semprioznik 16, Colvin 14, Carroll 11, Wheeler 10, Wallis 8, Bridge 2, Shafer 1.

REB: SPT — D. Driggs 3, Ch. Laybourne 3, Thaete 3, M. Driggs 2, Mire 2, Tomco 1, L. Driggs 1, Ca. Laybourne 1. CDA — N/A.

AST: SPT — D. Driggs 3, Mire 2, Tomco 1, L. Driggs 1, Ca. Laybourne 1. CDA — N/A.

STL: SPT — Mire 1, Tomco 1, L. Driggs 1, Ch, Laybourne 1. CDA — N/A.

BLK: SPT — Mire 1, M. Driggs 1. CDA — N/A.

Wallace 52, Clark Fork 20

WALLACE — Junior Kathi Rupp had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Lady Cats fell to the Lady Miners in a 2A Scenic Idaho Conference matchup on Tuesday.

Clark Fork High head coach Chris Cavanaugh said the team struggled offensively and allowed that to spread over to the defensive side of things.

"Kathi carried us by herself as much as she could," coach Cavanaugh said. "All while holding a very good player (Bethany Phillips) to just four points on the defensive end."

Cavanaugh also mentioned that senior Aliyah Leadbetter was a bright spot in the loss, playing great on defense and giving the team some much needed energy off the bench.

Clark Fork (4-8) travels to Noxon on Thursday.

Clark Fork 9 0 7 4 — 20

Wallace 20 8 15 9 — 52

PTS: CF — Rupp 12, Hoy 3, Thompson 3, Scarlett 2. WAL — Wood 21, K. Phillips 12, Delano 6, Birdsell 4, Stutzke 4, B. Phillips 4, Vorhees 2.

deGraaf leads Thunder to second win

Kootenai Thunder 41, Christian Heritage 32

COCOLALLA  — Casey deGraaf tallied a team-high 14 points and recorded seven rebounds and four steals as the Lady Thunder captured their second victory of the season with a 9-point win over Christian Heritage on Tuesday.

Mazie Miles added nine points, all from 3-point range, and Mercy Brewer contributed nine points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Lady Thunder, which used a 14-point third quarter to pull away.

Laura Allshouse stuffed the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

The Kootenai Thunder (2-8) travel to face the Pullman Christian School today.

Thunder Stats Only.

PTS: KT — deGraaf 14, Miles 9, Brewer 9, Allshouse 5, Brewer 2, Hammond 2.

REB: KT — deGraaf 7, Brewer 7, Allshouse 6, Reynolds 3, Hammond 2, Stevens 1, Palmer 1, Ball 1.

AST: KT — Allshouse 4, Hammond 2, Reynolds 2, deGraaf 1, Palmer 1.

STL: KT — Allshouse 4, deGraaf 4, Brewer 4, Miles 3, Hammond 1, Palmer 1.

BLK: KT — Miles 1.


    Dylan Day of the Kootenai Thunder rises up for a jump shot during Tuesday night's 52-16 win over Christian Heritage.