Spartans fall to St. Maries again, top IML rival Kellogg

ST. MARIES — Without leading scorer Trentyn Kreager, Priest River boys basketball couldn't overcome a talented St. Maries team on Tuesday night, falling 65-50.

The victory allowed St. Maries, the second-ranked team in class 2A, to complete a season sweep of the Spartans. The Lumberjacks beat Priest River 70-48 on their home court last Thursday.

"We needed to do a better job at handling their full-court press," head coach Kevin Wylie said. "St. Maries put their press on and we turned the ball over too many times in the first quarter."

Despite the slow start, the Spartans picked up their play in the second quarter and hung with the Lumberjacks the rest of the way. Each team scored 41 points in the final three quarters.

"We were in foul trouble so some guys stepped up big tonight," Wylie said. "Teigan Marinello has stepped up in a huge way with his speed and vision. He was a big part in breaking the full-court press."

Jordan Nortz hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points. Blake Barrett also scored 14 and Jace Yount added seven.

"St. Maries is a really tough team and will make a run at the 2A state title," Wylie said. "For us, I think games like this will only make us better."

The Spartans bounced back from two straight losses on Saturday with a commanding victory over Intermountain League rival Kellogg.

The Spartans outscored the Wildcat in every quarter en route to a 65-48 win.

Wylie said his team put it all together on Saturday and never let up.

"We played very well," he said. "We started out with great energy at both ends of the floor and we did a great job defensively forcing tough shots and rebounding the ball."

Priest River avenged a 67-44 nonleague loss to the Wildcats in the Silver Valley Tournament championship game on Dec. 5.

After struggling a bit from the field in the past two games, the Spartans regained their form on offense against Kellogg by feeding off their stellar play on the other end of the court.

"Offensively we hit some big shots and executed our sets," Wylie said.

Priest River led 33-22 at the half.

Four players reached double figures for the Spartans. Kreager led the way with 19 points, Barrett tallied 14, Nortz added 12 and Travis Mathews knocked down 10 clutch free throws in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points.

In their first matchup with the Lumberjacks on Thursday, St. Maries jumped out to a 21-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

"Once we settled down, we began to chip away at the deficit," Wylie said after the game. "I thought we played well in the final three quarters, but we need to come out with more energy to start the game."

Sophomore guard Luke Butler led all scorers with 18 points.

"It was nice to see him find his shot and attack the basket," Wylie said.

Kreager added 12 points and Mathews chipped in six.

The Spartans (8-5, 2-0 IML) will play North Idaho Christian for the third time this season at 7 p.m. Thursday at PRLHS.

Wylie expects to have Kreager back for Saturday's pivotal IML game at Bonners Ferry.

Priest River 9 15 8 18 — 50

St. Maries 24 19 12 10 — 65

PRIEST RIVER — Mathews 0, Butler 4, J. Nortz 14, Marinello 2, Barrett 14, D. Nortz 5, Thompson 4, Yount 7.

ST. MARIES — Sands 6, Ross 5, Becktel 4, Badgett 0, Gentry 17, Stancil 6, Elliott 2, Wicks 2, Gibson 13, C. Renner 4, T. Renner 0, Ledbetter 2, McMaster 4.

Kellogg 10 12 10 16 — 48

Priest River 15 18 13 19 — 65

KELLOGG — Miller 0, R. Luna 4, K. Luna 10. Mclean 0, Groves 5, Maciosek 0, Frohlich 2, Walker 7, Jerome 20, Lahn 0, Hoffman 0.

PRIEST RIVER — Mathews 10, Butler 2, J. Nortz 12, Kreager 19, Marinello 4, Barrett 14, D. Nortz 0, Yount 4.

St. Maries 21 13 22 14 — 70

Priest River 6 12 14 15 — 48

ST. MARIES — Sands 17, Ross 10, Bechtel 4, Gentry 17, Stancil 4, Elliott 3, Gibson 6, Ledbetter 0, Colby Renner 5, Tyler Renner 4, McMaster 0.

PRIEST RIVER — Mathews 6, Butler 18, J. Nortz 4, Kreager 12, Marinello 3, Barrett 2, D. Nortz 1, Thompson 2.