High seeds, high hopes for State

Five area teams spanning four different size classifications are set to begin Idaho boys basketball state tournament play today.

Three of them are ranked at or near the top of their fields: the Lewiston Bengals hold the second seed in the Class 5A bracket, while the Kamiah Kubs and Kendrick Tigers have the first and third slots, respectively, at 2A.

3A Orofino and 1A Nezperce are also set to begin play today.

Bengals roar into postseason

The Bengals, who won the regular-season 5A Inland Empire League championship and posted convincing back-to-back wins over Sandpoint to clinch the district tournament title, are making their first trip to State since 2017.

“We’re excited to be heading down to be part of the state tournament,” Lewiston coach Brooks Malm said. “I feel like it’s deserving of our kids. We’ve had a good year.”

Boasting a 20-4 record in a breakout season that has seen it competing in a new conference field after size classification realignment, Lewiston has consistently ranked near the front of the 5A pack in state media polling and computer-generated power rankings, making its state tournament seeding no surprise.

The Bengals have been known for their offensive prowess, particularly from long range, with leading scorer Royce Fisher and several of his teammates often combining for more than 10 3-pointers in a game.

Their losses this season have come to reigning 4A state champion Bonners Ferry, larger-division foes Coeur d’Alene and Lake City of Coeur d’Alene, and to Sandpoint, which Lewiston defeated by double-digit margins in three of four meetings. A 62-60 decision over 6A standout Post Falls on Feb. 14 was among the team’s most notable regular-season wins.

Should the state draw go according to seeding, the Bengals would meet Preston (22-1) for the title on Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. However, Malm emphasizes that he and his team are not looking past any opponent — including their opening-round foe Twin Falls, which Malm calls a “storied program.”

The Bengals face the seventh-seeded Bruins (14-9) today at 1 p.m. Pacific at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian.

“They’re level-headed,” Malm said of his team. “That’s one strength of our guys — really high-character locker room. Don’t get too high; don’t get too low; we’re just looking forward to the opportunity to get to go and compete.”

Kubs, Tigers in contention

It was an interesting, up-and-down season in the 2A Whitepine League, with many teams trading victories over one another. Kamiah, however, seemed to be above the fray, going undefeated and leading state media polling until very recently, when Logos of Moscow and Kendrick each managed to pull an upset over the Kubs — the latter in the district title game.

Following what coach Aaron Skinner called a “come-to-Jesus” meeting that helped shake the team from a bout of complacency, Kamiah (21-2) returned with a vengeance, hammering Logos 75-50 in a loser-out game before blitzing Compass Charter of Meridian 72-37 to clinch a berth to State.

It turned out the Kubs would still receive the top seed, which Skinner attributed to his team’s strength of schedule relative to south Idaho’s still-unbeaten Valley Vikings of Hazelton, who are tabbed second.

“I didn’t quite expect it after we stumbled there at the end of the season, but we’ll take it,” Skinner said. “The kids are focused regardless of what seed we’re at, but it’s always an honor to go down as a No. 1 seed.”

This year’s team includes standouts like 6-foot-6 College of Idaho signee Dave Kludt and cousins Matthew and Everett Oatman, who have combined to form a speedy and balanced unit.

The Kubs reached a state final as recently as 2022 — falling to perennial small-school heavyweight Lapwai — but have not ever claimed a state championship.

“Kamiah, in the history that I’ve been associated with the program, has, I believe, five state runner-up trophies from (former Kubs coach) Ryan Ball to me,” said Skinner, whose team meets No. 8 Victory Charter of Nampa at Caldwell’s Vallivue High School today at 4 p.m. Pacific. “We’re looking to bring home the blue one. I’m tired of seeing the red ones on the bus.”

Entering with the same goal in mind will be Kendrick (17-7), which won 10 consecutive games since making a 7-7 start to its season. The Tigers, who had multiple new starters and moved up a size classification this year, went through what first-year coach Steve Kirkland called an “adjustment period” before hitting their stride.

Now, they look like the sort of postseason threat Kendrick is used to fielding across different sports, with the likes of Ralli Roetcisoender, Cade Silflow and brothers Maddox and Hudson Kirkland mounting a consistent multi-pronged attack. The Tigers’ most recent win was also their most impressive, as they avenged two regular-season defeats to top Kamiah 52-46 and continue the school’s long streak of district titles spanning both boys basketball and football.

Kendrick starts its state campaign facing No. 6 Hagerman (16-8) today at 11 a.m. at Vallivue. With a win, the Tigers could find themselves in a semifinal against Valley (22-0) in search of a possible state title game rematch with Kamiah.

Maniacs, Nighthawks in the mix

The district tournament upset fever this season was not limited to Class 2A.

In 3A competition, the Orofino Maniacs (9-12) mounted a stunning run to their first district title in 17 years with a 53-51 semifinal win over top-seeded Priest River (14-6) and a 54-48 championship victory against Kellogg (12-11). Since starting the season 4-12, they have now won five straight, not least because of the high-scoring efforts of sophomore Blake Barlow.

To keep the run going at State, eighth-seeded Orofino will need to pull its biggest upset yet — it takes on No. 1 Declo (23-1) today at Boise’s Capital High School at 4 p.m. Pacific.

Finally, at the 1A level, the Nezperce Nighthawks (13-5) are making their first state tournament appearance in several years after pulling out a 77-68 double overtime district championship victory over Clearwater Valley of Kooskia (12-10). A big performance from freshman Slater Kuther was key for Nezperce, which enters this week on a five-game winning streak of its own.

The Nighthawks are seeded seventh at State, and will have their work cut out for them as they face No. 2 Rockland (20-3) today at 1 p.m. Pacific at Caldwell High School.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.