Kubs win at Lapwai to stay undefeated

LAPWAI — Anything short of a state championship would fall well below the undefeated Kamiah Kubs’ expectations.

With a month left in the boys basketball regular season, the Kubs have certainly looked the part.

The visiting Kubs took a step closer to their goal when they beat the Lapwai Wildcats 60-39 in a 2A Whitepine League clash on Thursday in Lapwai.

Senior guard Dave Kludt, bound for the College of Idaho men’s basketball team later this year, paced Kamiah (12-0, 7-0) with 18 points as one of four Kubs to hit double figures.

Lapwai’s Vincent Kipp led a resurgent attack for the Wildcats (7-6, 2-5), scoring each of his 13 points in the second half, but Kamiah’s lead was too great to surmount.

“These guys deserve a ton of credit,” Kamiah coach Aaron Skinner said of his undefeated Kubs. “They busted their butts and they’re doing a really good job.”

Kludt, Oatman lead Kamiah

It’s not a play that jumps off the stat sheet, but Everett Oatman’s hustle to attempt to regain possession of a loose ball in the first half stood out to Kubs star Kludt.

“Everett went, got an offensive rebound, got it tipped, and he dove as hard as he could, and the ball actually was out on him,” Kludt said. “It was Lapwai ball, but I love that intensity. I thought it was really huge for our team.”

Skinner said that Kamiah’s early offensive success was a direct result of its defensive triumphs led by Oatman.

“Tonight’s effort by Everett is bar none the best defense I’ve seen a high school basketball player play in probably 15 to 20 years,” Skinner said. “He is a menace.”

Skinner said Oatman’s ability to be “everywhere on the court” like an “energizer bunny” is what allowed Kamiah to get hot early and connect with Kludt, Jaydon Crowe and the other Kubs scorers.

Oatman did not play basketball last year, but Skinner said his athleticism translates to any sport he plays.

Kamiah jumped out to an 8-0 lead and put together a 24-point run in the first half to lead 39-8 at halftime.

The Kubs had just five scorers on Thursday, but each posted at least nine points.

Kludt led the way with a pair of 3-pointers and 18 points, Crowe sank three 3s on his way to 13 points and Oatman and Lawson Landmark scored 10 points apiece.

Matthew Oatman added nine points.

Kludt said that he has played basketball with this group of seniors and juniors since he was in second grade.

“Everyone on the court can score, and it really opens up the floor to where we get good matchups, we get good spacing,” Kludt said. “We’ve played basketball so long with each other that we know where each other’s gonna be. It leads to a lot of easy buckets.”

Lessons learned for Lapwai

Lapwai came out of the locker room at the half with an adjusted gameplan, as the Wildcats outscored the Kubs 31-21 in the final 16 minutes.

“Effort is where it starts,” Lapwai coach Zachary Eastman said. “And we’re trying to build something that second half, to at least take some positives from it, and then go into the next game with some momentum.”

Kipp, Lapwai’s leading scorer, was the only player with varsity experience entering this season.

Lapwai’s 2023-24 state tournament championship team’s starting lineup was composed entirely of seniors, including Kase Wynott, who earned a scholarship at Washington State.

With the veteran leadership gone, Eastman said he and his staff have called on Kipp, as the most experienced member of the team, to be a leader.

“Becoming a leader doesn’t happen overnight,” Eastman said. “It takes time. And so (Kipp is) still finding his groove, but the boys are responding well to adversity, and I know that we’re gonna learn from this game.”

Kipp led the resurgent scoring effort in the second half.

He drove the ball into the paint, forcing Kamiah to foul him. He sank the free throw to open the third quarter and made several layups, a 3-pointer and several key passes.

With each basket made, Lapwai’s gym erupted. Wildcat fans got loud on defensive possessions, stamping on the bleachers to drum up defensive thunder and the Wildcats on the court seemed to respond, forcing turnovers, making passes and drilling shots to “win” the second half.

“This is building for our future,” Eastman said. “We’re getting these kids experience where next year they’ll be able to come in and have this experience and be able to go into next year better.”

A different kind of Kubs

Prior to this year, Kamiah boys basketball had not beaten Lapwai since Dec. 9, 2011.

Since then, Lapwai had beaten Kamiah twice a year for over a decade.

Kludt said his focus remains on winning a championship.

“It’s been a blast,” Kludt said. “We’re still undefeated right now, hoping to keep that going. But I think our main goal, and what we keep driving for, is the state championship.”

Skinner said that his team has three main goals: an outright league championship, a district championship and a state championship.

“Anything less than that, these guys would find as a failure,” Skinner said. “It wouldn’t be, but that’s their mindset right now.”

KAMIAH (12-0, 7-0)

Jaydon Crowe 3 4-6 13, Jack Engledow 0 0-0 0, Matthew Oatman 4 0-0 9, Everett Oatman 5 0-0 10, Dave Kludt 8 0-0 18, Lawson Landmark 4 1-2 10. Totals 24 5-8 60.

LAPWAI (7-6, 2-5)

Marcisio Noriega 1 1-2 3, DaRon Wheeler 1 0-0 2, Triston Konen 0 0-0 0, Jereese McCormack 0 0-0 0, Douglas Pappan 0 2-2 2, Vincent Kipp 5 2-3 13, Jared Marek 2 0-0 5, LaRicci George-Smith 5 0-0 10. Totals 16 5-7 39.

Kamiah 16 23 12 9—60

Lapwai 6 2 16 15—39

3-point goals — Crowe 3, Kludt 2, M. Oatman, Landmark, Kipp, Marek.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.