Lapwai puts Knights in a hole they can’t dig out of

Kase Wynott drained two 3-pointers in the opening moments and finished with 26 points as the unbeaten and top-seeded Lapwai Wildcats catapulted into the Idaho Class 1A Division I championship game Friday with a convincing 79-43 win against Whitepine League adversary Logos at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.

Lapwai, the defending champion, dominated the first quarter 25-8 and improved to 26-0 with its fourth defeat of the Knights of the season. The Wildcats nudged their win streak to 35 games dating to last season and now seek their 12th state title overall and their fourth in the past six years.

The Wildcats forced 18 turnovers, committing just four, a differential that coach Zach Eastman called “pretty much the deciding factor in the game.

“We played really uptempo basketball,” he said. “We always look for the person ahead (in transition) and our players are so unselfish, that makes it even harder to guard. We were making a lot of transition 3’s, and those are hard to defend.”

Wynott shot 11-for-17 overall, 3-for-6 from long range, and added seven assists as he pushed his two-game point total to 49 for the tournament.

“He passed the ball just as well as he scored the ball tonight,” Eastman said.

Titus Yearout added 15 points and four assists, Kross Taylor contributed 12 points and Terrell Ellenwood-Jones chipped in 10.

Logos (17-8) played its steadiest ball midway through the game, capitalizing on some some Lapwai inattentiveness to cut the gap to 36-26 early in the third quarter.

But the Cats cranked up their defense and transition game, pumping their lead to 48-26 on a 3 by Ellenwood-Jones.

Two of the Wildcats’ most brilliant moments set up three-point plays. In the first quarter came a weaving, two-pass finish on a fast break resulting in a layin and free throw by Ellenwood-Jones.

Later, Yearout provided the highlight of the second half when, braking in transtion near the baseline, he made a behind-the-back bounce pass to Wynott, whose three-point play made it 56-32.

Logos plays Grace for third place at 11 a.m. Pacific today at the same site.

LOGOS (17-8)

Roman Nuttbrock 4 2-3 11, Seamus Wilson 3 0-0 7, Kenny Kline 1 0-0 2, Jack Driskill 1 0-0 2, Will Casebolt 3 0-2 9, Jasper Whitling 1 0-0 2, Aiden Elmore 0 0-4 4, Ben Druffel 5 0-0 10. Totals 18 2-5 43.

LAPWAI (25-0)

Terrell Ellenwood-Jones 4 0-0 10, Titus Yearout 6 1-2 15, Kross Taylor 4 1-2 12, Mason Brown 1 0-1 2, Lydell Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Ahlius Yearout 2 0-0 4, Jalisco Miles 0 2-2 2, Simon Henry 0 0-0 0, AJ Ellenwood 1 2-3 4, Chris Bohnee 1 0-0 2, Kase Wynott 11 1-1 26. Totals 31 7-12 79.

Logos 8 12 12 11—43

Lapwai 25 8 23 23—79

3-point goals — Casebolt 3, Nuttbrock, Wilson, Taylor 3, Wynott 3, Ellenwood-Jones 2, T. Yearout 2.