North Idaho Microupdates: Part 2

<p>Nestled snugly between Montana and Washington, north Idaho is home to some really unique geography, as well as some really talented basketball players. Across the region, small, medium, and large schools have been able to produce quality basketball talent for quite some time, and this year has shown the skill and abilities of these players at full strength. As the conference season begins to ramp up and teams and players settle into their formal roles, the competition becomes that much fiercer and the best separate themselves that much more. Continue reading for a look at some of the top microupdates from recent north Idaho basketball games.</p> <p><strong>Meridian vs. Lake City: </strong>In a game featuring both teams from last season’s 5A state championship, Lake City avenged their second-place finish with a win over Meridian recently. Playing down in the Boise-area, Lake City came out of the gates on fire and never looked back as they continued their hot shooting streak and completely overpowered Meridian’s offense and defense. Lake City was led by a really strong outing from [player_tooltip player_id="923086" first="Kolton" last="Mitchell"] who outpaced all scorers by putting up 34 points. Mitchell showed his ability to finish tough shots at the rim through traffic, he shot the ball well from the free throw line, and he proved that defenders need to respect his range thanks to a knockdown shooting performance from downtown. [player_tooltip player_id="923077" first="Blake" last="Buchanan"] also played a strong game and deflected or deterred a lot of shots in the paint in order to slow down Meridian’s offense while making them rely on three pointers.</p> <p><strong>Coeur d’Alene vs. Shadle Park (WA):</strong> In a matchup of programs from different states, Coeur d’Alene was able to pull out a strong victory over Shadle Park. Coeur d’Alene and Shadle Park went back and forth for the majority of the game, but Coeur d’Alene outlasted their opponents by knocking down critical shots and tightening down their defensive efforts in the fourth quarter. Coeur d’Alene was led by an incredible 26 point performance from [player_tooltip player_id="921077" first="Cameren" last="Cope"]. Cope showed a tremendous ability to finish through contact as he scored 12 of his points from the free throw line while shooting 86% from the charity stripe. Cope has had a strong season so far and will look to prove himself as one of the best in the region during conference play.</p>