Jacob Pfennigs sparks Post Falls in finale at Lake City Invite

Jacob Pfennigs hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter as Post Falls built an early double-digit lead and the Trojans downed Mead 66-48 in the finale of the Lake City Invite at Lake City HS on Friday.

Pfennigs finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Tanner McCliment-Call paced Post Falls with 23 points, including 14 in the second quarter as the Trojans (6-4) ran away from the Panthers (3-7).

With a snowstorm dumping 6-8 inches in Coeur d’Alene the crowd was sparse, and Post Falls was coming off a trip to Las Vegas to play in the Coach Jerry Tarkanian Classic, where they went 2-2 in four games in four days before the holiday break.

Regardless, Post Falls dominated in the first half.

“I thought our kids came out dailed in,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. “We’ve been on quite a grind the last 10-12 days. There wasn’t a lot of atmosphere for this game. I thought our guys answered the bell from the get-go.”

McLean certainly wasn’t blaming the tournament for the lack of excitement in the gym.

“This tournament is first class all the way through,” he said, mentioning Lake City coach Jim Winger’s involvement and how each team is put up at the downtown resort. “The way we’re treated here, you get three good games, it’s just a great environment that we’ll come to as long as they keep having it.”

Mead got out to a good start, and led 11-10 midway through the first quarter. But that’s when Pfennigs heated up. He stroked a 3-pointer to put Post Falls up 13-11 and the Trojans took off.

McCliment-Call knocked down a 3 next time up the court, then Pfennigs hit again from long distance and the Trojans led 23-11 after the first.

The 6-foot-7 Pfennigs doesn’t play under the same scrutiny that most players his size do since the natural athlete is committed to play baseball at the next level.

“It’s just to come out and play a sport I love,” Pfennigs said. “I’ll miss it after high school.”

“Jake doesn’t surprise anybody,” McLean explained. “Everywhere we go folks cheat into him. Today right off the bat we had some real good screens set for him and he was able to get loose and get going.

“Teams have to pick their poison. They start cheating one way, then we have Tanner who was able to make some open shots.”

The run continued over the first 3 minutes of the second quarter. A fast-break layup by McCliment-Call extended the streak to 19 points and Post Falls took a 29-11 lead.

Tyson Rogalette’s short jumper finally halted Post Falls’ impressive run, but even that didn’t slow the Trojans down – most notably McCliment-Call.

The 6-foot-1 senior made a fast-break layup, drained a pair of 3s, and then got out in transition again for another easy layup and the Trojans cruised into the half with a commanding 46-22 lead.

“Just kept shooting it,” McCliment-Call said. “Had some open shots.”

Post Falls’ scoring pace waned in the second half as it moved the ball around and worked the shot clock, but it mattered little as Mead never found a streak to cut into its deficit much.

Tyson Rogalette led the way for Mead with 22 points, including five 3-pointers.

Columbia River 57, Lake City 46: Caden Dezort scored 15 points, Jacob Hjort added 14 and the Chieftains beat the tournament host Timberwolves (4-5). Lake City’s James Carlson led all scorers with 24 points.

Peninsula 69, Coeur d’Alene 63: Seth Kasteler scored 24 points and the Seahawks (6-4) got past the Vikings (4-4). Sam Matheson led Coeur d’Alene with 19 points.