STANWOOD — Stanwood hosted a nonconference, out-of-state opponent in Coeur d’Alene and received a valuable lesson on building a program.
The Vikings (2-1) entered as the No. 2-ranked team in the state of Idaho and showed why in a thorough 61-52 defeat of Stanwood, Thursday night.
Spartans head coach Zach Ward said the depth and experience of Coeur d’Alene was their biggest challenge.
“They’re deep. Their bench is very solid,” said Ward. “They bring back four starters and have three (seniors) that have been starters since their freshman year. That’s huge.
“That was pretty cool. Seeing that and knowing that’s where we want (our program) to get to.”
Tyler Higbie finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the Vikings, who had three players in double-figures. Drew Stang, the Spartans’ sophomore center, scored 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds and had four blocks.
The Vikings came out and took a quick 19-10 advantage after eight minutes of play. By halftime the deficit for the Spartans had expanded to 35-16.
One of the primary issues for Stanwood was rebounding. Coeur d’Alene held a 10-rebound advantage.
“We came out and I think our guys were a little wide-eyed early,” admitted Ward. “We did some things that were a little out of the norm.”
Ward, though, thought his squad showed some good things in a second half in which Stanwood got to within six with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
“We got some things going in the third quarter offensively. We got some stops and did some good things,” added Ward. “I thought my kids really played well.
At Stanwood H.S.
Coeur d’Alene19151512—61
Stanwood1062214—52
Coeur d’Alene—Roletto 2, Neirinckx 11, Loy 5, Moore 8, Tyler Higbie 17, Watson 13, Blakely 5, Tackett 0. Stanwood—M. Garcea 9, Thayer 3, Roberson 11, Stang 13, Zipp 0, B. Garcea 3, Esary 4, Swenson 0, O’Donnell 0, Williams 9, Sears 0. 3-point goals—Loy 1, Watson 2, Thayer 1, B. Garcea 1, Williams 1. Records—Coeur d’Alene 2-1. Stanwood 3-2.
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