| Pirates
dominate at State
The Prairie Pirates ran roughshod through the 1-A Division 1 state tournament winning by 32, 18 and 35 points to claim their third state championship and second in 5 years. It was the most dominating performance by a Prairie team at a state tournament since the girls teams of 1977 and 1978. On Thursday, March 6 they routed Glenns Ferry 82-50. On Friday, March 7, Genesee, which wound up third, stayed with the Pirates for a half before falling 47-29. Both of those games were at Vallivue High School in Caldwell where the Pirates now have a record of 8-1. On Saturday at the Idaho Center in Nampa they routed Challis, who had knocked off Lapwai the night before, 78-43. With the championship the boys team joins the girls team as champions in the same year for the second time. The first was in 1982. Lapwai is the only other school to do it more than once, in 1989 and 2002. Capital (1977), Meridian (1983), Burley (2007), Priest River (2010) and Snake River (2013) are the only other schools to achieve that honor. 
Tanner Ross added 4 while Schlader and Higgins scored 2 more each as Prairie took a 23-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was more of the same as Higgins kicked off the scoring with his second 3-pointer of the game. Prairie outscored Glenns Ferry 18-2 to start the second quarter and take a 41-9 lead despite Bruner going to the bench with foul trouble. Lucas Arnzen carried the bulk of the second quarter scoring with 12 points on 6 for 8 shooting. Prairie backed off on the defensive intensity late in the half but still led 47-16 at the break. After a 10-5 start to the third quarter that put Prairie up 59-21, the Pirates started going to their bench, which is a nice luxury to be able to do that early when you are playing 3 games in 3 days. The entire roster wound up getting some playing time and everyone scored except Mason Dalgliesh, who did not attempt a shot. Arnzen wound up leading the scoring with 18 points. 4 of 5 starters scored in double figures as Higgins and Tanner Ross scored 12 each and Schlader scored 11. Isaiah Shears scored 8 while Bruner scored 6. Tyler Hankerson scored 4, Bryson Higgins 3 and Dylon Bruegeman, Calvin Hinkelman, Terran Peery and John Mager 2 each. Prairie dominated on the boards 47-31 with Arnzen grabbing 9 to lead the team. Bruner had 7 and Shears and Ross 6 each. Schlader had 5 steals and 5 assists while Bruner had 4 steals and 5 assists. Prairie was 37 for 69 from the field, 54%, and 5 of 12 at the line, 42%. Glenns Ferry was 19 for 58 from the field, 33%, and 4 of 10 at the line, 40%. Through the first 3 quarters, when the starters played, the turnover count was 8 for Prairie and 15 for Glenns Ferry. It wound up 15 and 19. Prairie 23 24 18 17 -82 Glenns Ferry 7 9 15 21 -52 Prairie-Schlader 5-9, 1-2, 11; J. Higgins 5-8, 0-0, 12; Bruner 3-5, 0-1, 6; Ross 6-8, 0-0, 12; Arnzen 9-16, 0-0, 18; Hankerson 2-5, 0-1, 4; Bruegeman 1-4, 0-0, 2; B. Higgins 1-2, 0-0, 3; Shears 3-3, 2-3, 8; Hinkelman 0-3, 2-4, 2; Peery 1-4, 0-2, 2; Mager 1-2, 0-0, 2; Dalgliesh 0-0, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-J. Higgins 2, B. Higgins. Glenns Ferry-Martell 0-5, 0-0, 0; Juarez 7-19, 2-4, 18; Bryant 2-3, 0-0, 4; W. Arce 2-7, 1-2, 7; Lemieux 4-8, 0-0, 9; Sterling 1-5, 0-2, 2; Hance 1-2, 1-2, 3; Arellano 0-1, 0-0, 0; L. Arce 0-1, 0-0, 0; Ch. Gastelum 1-4, 0-0, 3; Guerrero 1-1, 0-0, 2; Ballesteros 0-0, 0-0, 0; Ca. Gastelum 0-1, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-Juarez 2, Lemieux, Ch. Gastelum.  energy
than the district matchup. They played tough man-to-man defense and came
up with the majority of the loose balls and contested rebounds through
the first half.
Genesee jumped out to a 2-7 lead 4 minutes into the game as Prairie struggled to make shots. The only scoring Prairie had was a pair of free throws by Bruner. Prairie got their defense cranked up and forced a 5-second inbounds turnover. That led to a lob from Jared Higgins to Bruner for a basket. Then after a Genesee score, Schlader scored and then a blocked shot by Bruner on Reggie Tilleman led to a bank shot by Bruner on the other end that cut the lead to 8-9. A 3-point play by Beau Tilleman pushed the lead back to 4 but another pair of free throws by Bruner made it 10-12 at the end of the first quarter. That was the only time in the tournament that Prairie trailed at the end of a quarter. A steal by Jared Higgins led to a basket by Schlader that tied the score. Genesee answered to retake the lead then went stone cold. Higgins stole the ball again and took it in for a lay-up to tie the score at 14 with 4:27 left in the half. 2 minutes later Ross scored a putback to put Prairie up 16-14 and Hankerson added a free throw to make it 17-14 at the half. In the third quarter it appeared the offensive strategy was to get the ball to Bruner as he scored the first 10 points of the second half. Arnzen finished off what turned out to be a 17-0 run with a lay-up to make it 29-14. Reggie Tilleman finally broke the nearly 11 minute scoring drought at the 2:45 mark of the third quarter and Genesee pulled back within 11 by the end of the quarter. An inbounds lob to Ross for a lay-up opened the fourth quarter and Schlader stole the ball on the ensuing Genesee possession and scored to make it 35-20. Genesee was able to claw back within 10 at 37-27 after consecutive deep 3-pointers by Beau Tilleman but that was Genesee’s last gasp. Press-break lay-ups by Bruner and Arnzen pushed the lead back to 14 and after a driving lay-up by Reggie Tilleman, Prairie finished the game with 6 straight points to win by 18. Bruner led the scoring with 20 points, 12 in the second half. Arnzen added 10, all in the second half where he was 5 for 5 from the field. Schlader scored 8, Ross and Jared Higgins 4 each and Hankerson 1. Rebounding was almost even with Genesee holding a 24-25 edge. Arnzen had 7 to lead Prairie. Schlader had 4 steals and 4 assists while Jared Higgins had 3 steals and 5 assists. Prairie was 19 for 39 from the field, 49%, 13 of 19 in the second half, 68%. They were 9 of 11 at the line, 82%. Genesee was 10 for 34 from the field, 29%, and 5 for 10 at the line, 50%. Prairie 10 7 14 16 -47 Genesee 12 2 6 9 -29 Prairie-Schlader 3-10, 2-3, 8; J. Higgins 1-4, 2-2, 4; Bruner 8-15, 4-4, 20; Ross 2-4, 0-0, 4; Arnzen 5-6, 0-0, 10; Hankerson 0-0, 1-2, 1; Bruegeman 0-0, 0-0, 0; Shears 0-0, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-none. Genesee-Phillips 1-2, 0-1, 2; B. Tilleman 4-8, 1-1, 11; R. Tilleman 2-8, 4-6, 8; Stout 2-5, 0-0, 6; Druffel 1-10, 0-2, 2; Linehan 0-1, 0-0, 0; Dermeerleer 0-0, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-B. Tilleman 2, Stout 2. Arnzen scored the first 6 points of the game and Prairie’s first 8 points, twice on putbacks and twice on lay-ups, once on a feed from Ross and the other on a feed from Bruner. 
Challis cut the opening margin to 8-5 before Bruner hit a 3-pointer from the win and a steal by Schlader led to a putback by Ross to make it 13-5. Prairie led 18-9 at the end of the quarter. A 10-0 run in the second quarter with 4 points by Arnzen and 2 each from Ross, Jared Higgins and Hankerson, turned a 22-11 lead into a 32-11 lead with 1:50 left in the half. Challis rallied back with a 3-10 run of their own featuring a pair of 3-pointers to cut the lead to 35-21 at the half. Challis big man Brandon Hamilton, who willed Challis to their comeback against Lapwai, scored the first 6 points of the second half to get the Vikings within 8 at 35-27 with 6:15 left in the third. Prairie then squashed any hoped Challis had with a 12-0 run in a span of just over 90 seconds. Bruner hit a pair of free throws at the 5:36 mark then Arnzen stole the inbounds pass and popped in a shot from the elbow. Another turnover led to a basket by Bruner. A steal by Jared Higgins led to a basket by Schlader. Ross added a basket 30 seconds later and Bruner scored at the 4:00 mark. All of a sudden an 8 point lead was a 20-point lead. Challis broke the run with a basket to make it 47-29 but Prairie pushed the lead to 61-34 by the end of the third quarter and it was all but over. Arnzen wound up with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Bruner added 19 points despite sitting out most of the second quarter with foul trouble. Ross added 12 points and Hankerson 11 while Bruegeman scored 5, Schlader and Jared Higgins 4 each and Hinkelman 3. Prairie held a 45-29 rebounding edge. Schlader had 6 steals and 3 assists. Arnzen added 3 steals. Higgins had 8 assists and 2 steals while Bruner had 4 assists and 2 steals. Prairie forced Challis into 27 turnovers, 16 of them on steals. The Pirates were 34 for 65 from the field, 52%, and 8 of 21 at the line, 38%. Challis was 16 for 50 from the field, 32%, and 10 of 16 at the line, 63%. The Pirates end their season with a 24-1 record. Prairie 18 17 26 17 -78 Challis 9 12 15 7 -43 Prairie-Schlader 1-7, 2-2, 4; J. Higgins 2-5, 0-2, 4; Bruner 8-15, 2-4, 19; Ross 6-9, 0-2, 12; Arnzen 9-13, 2-6, 20; Hankerson 5-9, 0-1, 11; Bruegeman 2-2, 1-1, 5; B. Higgins 0-1, 0-0, 0; Peery 0-0, 0-0, 0; Shears 0-0, 0-0, 0; Hinkelman 1-2, 1-2, 3; Dalgliesh 0-0, 0-1, 0; Mager 0-1, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-Bruner, Hankerson. Challis-Provence 0-6, 0-0, 0; Trusnovec 2-9, 1-4, 5; Hamilton 5-11, 5-5, 15; Farr 3-10, 2-2, 10; Sensabaugh 4-5, 2-3, 11; Kitchens 0-0, 0-2, 0; Olson 0-0, 0-0, 0; Herrick 0-2, 0-0, 0; Shaw 0-0, 0-0, 0; Stillwaugh 0-3, 0-0, 0; Millick 0-1, 0-0, 0; Cotant 1-1, 0-0, 2. 3-pointers-Farr 2, Sensabaugh.
Connections between dual champions There are some connections between the two times Prairie won both the girls and boys state titles in the same year. In 1982 Annette (Wren) Wemhoff was on the girls team while in 2014 her daughter Nicole was on the team. Both were starting point guards. Also Donna VonBargen was on the 1982 team and her niece, Shayla VonBargen, is on the 2014 team. In 1982 Aaron Hinkelman and Kevin Chaffee were on the team while in 2014 Aaron’s son Calvin was on the team and Kevin was one of the coaches. Also Rick Tidwell was on the boys 1982 team while niece Kylie Tidwell was on the girls 2014 team. Another connection is that both the 1982 and 2014 girls state champions were District runners-up and beat the District winner in the state championship game, Kendrick in 1982 and Lapwai in 2014. The boys won district both times and nearly had a repeat of having to beat the district runner-up again for the state title, Genesee in 1982 was both District and State runner-up and Lapwai could have been the same in 2014. Challis of course spoiled that by beating Lapwai in the semifinals at State. SCHEDULE FOR 2013-14 *indicates league game 13-Grangeville, here, Idaho County Shootout, 6 p.m., won 66-56 14-Troy, there*, won 58-37 17-Lapwai, there*, won 68-59 19-Salmon River, here, won 66-55 10-Grangeville, there, JV 5 p.m., V, 8 p.m. (quad with girls team), won 54-48 11-Nezperce, here, won 60-19 16-Potlatch, here*, won 61-13 18-Genesee, here*, won 63-53 21-C.V., here*, won 81-39 23-Orofino, there, won 51-48 24-Troy, here*, won 76-49 30-Lapwai, here*, won 68-56 3-Orofino, here, won 67-55 4-Potlatch, there*, won 85-38 6-Salmon River, there, 6 p.m. MST, lost 59-69 in overtime 11-C.V., there*, won 55-18 14-Kamiah, here*, 5 p.m., won 80-32 24, 26 & 27-District at LCSC, beat Genesee 60-22, beat Lapwai 62-49. March 6-8-State at Caldwell, beat Glenns Ferry 82-50, beat Genesee 47-29, beat Challis 78-43 - STATE CHAMPIONS!!. Prairie Baseball 2014 March 20—Kamiah, there, 4:00 21—McCall, here, (2), 4:00 22—Genesee (2) @LCSC, 11:00 28—Troy (2) @Clearwater Park-Lewiston 4:00 29—Potlatch, here (2), 11:00 11 & 12—Glenn’s Ferry Tournament, Friday: Wells, NV, 11:30; Malad, 2:00 Saturday: Soda Springs, 11:30 15—C.V., here, 4:30 17—vs. Highland (@Culdesac), 4:30 19—Timberline, there, (2) 11:00 24—Kendrick, there, 4:30 28—Highland, here, 4:30 2—Kendrick, here, 4:30 5 – 10—Districts- Lewiston, TBA 16 & 17—State at Lewiston, TBA |
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