Coeur d'Alene tips Glacier

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Many of the fans may have come to get a glimpse of the 7-footer who has signed with Gonzaga.

But what they also got was a nice stocking-stuffer of a high school boys basketball game Saturday afternoon.

Both teams pushed the pace in an entertaining, up-and-down-the-court game, finally decided on a 17-foot jumper by sophomore Colby Daniels with 4 seconds left that lifted Coeur d’Alene (5-1) past Glacier (3-1) 70-68 at Elmer Jordan Court.

“Those guys are good,” Coeur d’Alene coach Kent Leiss said of Glacier.

“Talent-wise, with the 7-footer (Ryan Edwards) and his supporting cast, that’s the best team that we’ve played so far. Coach (Mark) Harkins (of Glacier) was my assistant coach at Flathead, so we have the same philosophy — we want to run, and run and run. So that was a good test for us.”

“I was hoping we could wear them down, but we had way too many turnovers in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, we weren’t perfect, but we took care of the ball a lot better, and we made some clutch free throws.”

Edwards, who had missed 2 1/2 of the Wolfpack’s first three games after spraining his ankle in a scrimmage prior to the season opener, finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.

Leiss said Kelton Hunter, a 6-6 sophomore, “did a good job” as the primary defender on Edwards. Hunter also finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Sophomores Tony Naccarato and Nick Hancock also logged some of the dirty work underneath, as the Vikings mostly tried to front Edwards, who finished 4 of 11 from the field.

“They got real physical with him, and that’s what teams are going to do,” Harkins said.

“We’ll see that all year long.”

But what hurt the Vikings was Glacier’s quickness and drives to the basket, especially by fast-handed junior point guard Evan Epperly, who finished with 18 points and four steals.

Matt Peters added 13 points and Logan Iverson 12 for the Wolfpack.

Glacier opens Western AA play on Jan. 3 at Missoula Big Sky. Missoula Sentinel plays at Glacier on Jan. 5

Glacier 17 12 22 17 — 68

Coeur d’Alene 12 22 18 18 — 70

GLACIER — Charlier Obermiller 1, Reid Siderius 5, Evan Epperly 18, Bryan Michaels 7, Kalen Reed 2, Logan Iverson 12, Matt Peters 13, Ryan Edwards 10.

COEUR d’ALENE — Walde 16, Tripp 2, Daniels 18, Carpenter 3, Naccarto 4, Kluss 13, Hunter 14.