Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving sent a personal video message wishing them good luck.
“I am supporting you, all of the nations around you are supporting you and we all want to see you do well. … Let’s go get this, go get one,” Irving said.
The Wildcats didn’t let Kyrie down.
Following consecutive third-place finishes the last two seasons, Lapwai returned to the top of the mountain for the 11th time with an 82-60 win over Riverstone in the 1A Division I State Champion game Friday at the Ford Idaho Center. It was their first championship since 2018.
“It really gave us a bunch of fuel,” junior Kross Taylor said. “With those two third-place trophies, we said, ‘We don’t want them anymore. We want the first place trophy.’”
CALDWELL – Nick Liebich had a monster game, racking up 31 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and five blocks to lead Riverstone to a 73-64 victory over Prairie in the Idaho 1A D-I boys basketball state quarterfinals on Wednesday at Vallivue High School.
Charlie DeBoer added 23 points for the Otters, who advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in school history. They will play Lakeside on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Cole Schlader led Prairie with 18 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. Zach Rambo added 13 points and six rebounds for the Pirates, who will play Oakley in the consolation bracket Thursday at noon.