Different roads traveled for Potlatch, Lapwai
Mar. 2—Lapwai and Potlatch will represent the Whitepine League Division I at the Idaho Class 1A Division I state tournament that begins today at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.
The Wildcats (24-0) have won 60 consecutive games and are on the hunt for their third straight state title. Lapwai notched its third consecutive district championship with an 80-57 win Feb. 22 against Kamiah.
The last team to win the district championship other than the Wildcats? The Loggers, who are returning to the state tournament for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Potlatch has gone through adversity since then, including an 0-20 run two years ago.
It didn't take long for the Loggers to turn the ship around, finishing 13-10 in 2021-22. This season, Potlatch (18-7) has won seven out of its past 10 games to earn a spot in the state tourney.
Lapwai is the No. 1 seed and opens tournament play at 6 p.m. Pacific against Liberty Charter of Nampa (18-6). The Loggers are the sixth seed and will face No. 3 Lakeside of Plummer (14-3) at 1 p.m. Pacific at the same site.
Here's what to expect:
The odds-on favorite
It doesn't take a mathematician to see that Lapwai is the odds-on-favorite to win the Class 1A Division I state tournament.
The Wildcats lead all classifications in points per game (82), topping 100 points four times.
The offense is led by junior guard Kase Wynott. While Wynott is listed as a guard, he can play anywhere on the floor and it shows. Wynott averages 35 points per game at a 71% clip along with 15 rebounds. He's had a double-double in every game this season and three triple-doubles. He also recorded a rare high school quadruple-double in the Wildcats' 103-36 win Feb. 15 against Genesee with 37 points, 19 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals. On the year, Wynott has tallied 854 points, 360 rebounds, 80 blocks and 97 steals. He racked up those numbers despite playing in just three quarters in 16 games.
"He just became more of a well-rounded player this year," Eastman said. "I knew that he could score, but his ability to get rebounds has improved his game tremendously."
Wynott isn't the only one who can score. Senior Terrell Ellenwood-Jones (16.5) and Ahlius Yearout (13.5) each average in double digits.
Ellenwood-Jones has been point guard the past two years. His best outing of the season was during a 72-56 win Jan. 31 against Kamiah, when he had 22 points and five assists.
Yearout is Lapwai's best shooter from distance, converting 33% of his attempts.
"He's playing his best basketball late in the season," Eastman said. "He's taken on a bigger role this season in scoring and on defense. He's always guarding the other team's best player, and he can truly guard anyone on the floor."
Lapwai allows 44 points per game, just the third-best total in the Whitepine League. But what makes the Wildcats deadly is when they score off turnovers.
"You can't score if you don't have the ball," Eastman said. "We get deflections and that's how we start our offense. The goal on the defensive end is to create offense."
Peaking at the right time
Five of Potlatch's seven losses came against Lapwai and Kamiah.
The Kubs notched a 32-27 win Feb. 20 against the Loggers in the semifinal round of the district tournament at Lewiston High School. But that didn't deter Potatch, which beat Logos and Troy in the loser's bracket to get another shot at Kamiah.
The fourth time against the Kubs was the charm for the Loggers, who escaped with a 49-46 victory Feb. 23 against a team they hadn't beaten since the 2019-20 season.
"All three times we've played Kamiah this year, it's been competitive," Potlatch coach Ryan Ball said. "We were just (unable) to make some more plays at the end of the game to close it out."
At first glance, no one on Potlatch's roster is enough of a scoring threat to lose sleep over. They average just 49 points per outing. The Loggers leading scorer is Jaxon Vowels, who tallied 25 in the loser-out game against the Kubs.
The Loggers' defense allows 36 points per outing, second-best in the classification. Defense has been Potlatch's calling card since Ball took charge seven years ago.
"It's just something we emphasize every day," Ball said. "As a coach, we're always going over proper body position and the kids really buy into it and they're starting to see success."
After Potlatch's winless season, Ball told his players to trust the system. Most of the current players at that time were freshmen and sophomores. Now, they're reaping the rewards.
"The best part was that they were young," Ball said. "We knew that this was going to be about a two-year process, but the kids really worked hard to be better. They put in the work in the summer to improve their game and have been constantly working their tails off."
Class 1A Division I schedule
All games at Vallivue High School, Caldwell
Thursday's Games
Game 1: Grace vs. Victory Charter, 11 a.m.
Game 2: Lakeside vs. Potlatch, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Castleford vs. Carey, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Lapwai vs. Liberty Charter, 6 p.m.
Friday's Games
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Consolation final
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 a.m.
Third-place game
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 11 a.m.
Championship
At Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 10:30 a.m.
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.
