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Feb. 21—When Lewiston senior Royce Fisher walked off the court with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter of a district semifinal against the Moscow Bears, the Bengals led by 23 points.
Fisher (33 points) personally led the Bears by six.
"I just come out hot and don't look back from there," said Fisher, a Lewis-Clark State College basketball commit. "That's all it is."
Fisher's career-high point total accounted for exactly half of Lewiston's total offensive output and the Bengals beat the Bears 66-43 to advance to the 5A Inland Empire League district tournament championship.
Lewiston will host Sandpoint in the title game at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lewiston High School. Moscow will face Lakeland of Rathdrum in a loser-out game at 6 p.m. at Lakeland.
"The message was, 'Survive and advance.' I didn't think we played our best basketball tonight," Lewiston coach Brooks Malm said. "We have a great opportunity in front of us on Tuesday. Getting to play for another district title is something that not everybody gets to do, so for us to get to go play in it again, we're fortunate. We're going to take advantage of it."
A career game for Fisher
Lewiston, which swept Moscow by wide margins in both regular-season encounters, came out of the gates a little flat, coughing up a turnover to the Bears on its opening possession and going scoreless for almost two minutes.
Then senior Mason Way, who, in the words of Malm, was electric and exhibited "phenomenal senior leadership," fought through a den of Bears for an offensive rebound, whipped the ball to a wide-open Fisher beyond the arc and the purple-and-gold-clad majority took a collective breath as the ball swished through the net.
Fisher's first of four triples gave the Bengals a 3-2 lead that they would not concede the rest of the way.
He had his second triple on the Bengals' next possession.
Fisher, who accounted for six points in the first quarter, did not slow down. The senior made seven shots from the floor in the second quarter and accounted for 22 of the Bengals' 30 first-half points.
"I liked how he did what the team needed when the team needed it," Malm said of Fisher. "Tonight he stepped up. We weren't scoring it at a super high clip and he stepped up and made some shots for us, and carried us in that first half."
Fisher tacked on 11 more points to the second half before being subbed out of the game.
Lewiston junior Will Bobeck said that among the most impressive qualities of Fisher's game is his ability to create his own shots.
"(When) someone guards him really hard, he'll still shoot it," Bobeck said. "He'll still have a high-percentage shot, and he can get to a spot so easily, even if there's two, three people on him."
Fisher said that's something he has focused on, especially as he's grown and gotten stronger.
So, how does Fisher feel when he's in a flow state en route to a career-high point total?
"I feel like myself," Fisher said. "I just don't really feel anything, you know, I just don't really think. Shoot it, pass it, drive it, score."
Effort through adversity
Daily headlines, straight to your inboxRead it online first and stay up-to-date, delivered daily at 7 AM
Trailing a more-than-likely state-bound team by just five points after eight minutes is, to Moscow coach Mark Smith, a sign of the Bears' progress.
"Well-run program, well-coached, has been for years, and we played them better than we did the first (two) times," Smith said of Lewiston. "And showed a lot of heart, a lot of effort. That's the message: 'Let's carry that on to Tuesday.'"
Moscow showed some defensive spunk early on and found some late offensive success.
Jonas Mordhorst led Moscow with 15 points and Abram Godfrey, who did not have a basket until the second half, sank a hat trick of 3-pointers in an 11-point performance.
"I love these boys. I've coached them for four years," Smith said. "Seeing them grow as athletes and as young men, too, has been a really positive and rewarding thing."
'Five on 5,000'
Late in the game, Bobeck got his chance.
The junior — who this time last year hardly saw the floor — got the ball in his hands, sank a 3-pointer and stuck out three fingers in celebration as he leapt up and down, serenaded by the roars of approval of his student section, which stood directly behind him.
"It meant a lot, man," Bobeck said. "The 3 was amazing. The crowd, the energy, everything was surreal. It was just a really amazing moment for me."
The Bengals hope that there can be more of those moments to come during the district final on Tuesday.
Malm said that he hopes that the community packs the gym and turns LHS into North Carolina's Smith Center or Gonzaga's Kennel to support the Bengals as they have all year.
"It's one thing to play five on five. It's another thing to play five on 500 or five on 5,000 and we have the community to do it," Malm said. "This is one of the few communities where the high school programs are still the front porch to the community.
"If we can come together and pull in one direction on Tuesday night, I think that we're giving ourselves a great opportunity to win, and I think it's going to be a great experience for everybody."
MOSCOW (3-19)
Spencer Leisinger 0 0-0 0, Abram Godfrey 3 2-3 11, Keaton Frei 2 2-4 7, Jonah Couch 0 0-0 0, Lukas Brown 0 0-0 0, Jericho Pike 2 0-2 4, Curtis Carr 2 2-2 6, Josh Gordon 0 0-0 0, Ethan Maxcer 0 0-0 0, Jonas Mordhorst 7 1-2 15. Totals 16 7-13 43.
LEWISTON (19-3)
Royce Fisher 13 3-3 33, Krew DeGroot 0 0-0 0, Jordan Walker 5 0-0 12, Peyton Walker 1 1-4 2, Drew Haines 2 0-2 4, Brady Rudolph 2 0-0 5, Blaze Hepburn 0 0-0 0, Will Bobeck 2 0-0 5, Braylon Howland 0 0-0 0, DJ Wilkerson 1 0-0 2, Mason Way 2 0-0 2. Totals 27 4-7 66.
Moscow 5 6 12 20—43
Lewiston 10 20 15 21—66
3-point goals — Godfrey 3, Frei, Fisher 4, J. Walker 2, Rudolph, Bobeck.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, [email protected], or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
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Fisher (33 points) personally led the Bears by six.
"I just come out hot and don't look back from there," said Fisher, a Lewis-Clark State College basketball commit. "That's all it is."
Fisher's career-high point total accounted for exactly half of Lewiston's total offensive output and the Bengals beat the Bears 66-43 to advance to the 5A Inland Empire League district tournament championship.
Lewiston will host Sandpoint in the title game at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lewiston High School. Moscow will face Lakeland of Rathdrum in a loser-out game at 6 p.m. at Lakeland.
"The message was, 'Survive and advance.' I didn't think we played our best basketball tonight," Lewiston coach Brooks Malm said. "We have a great opportunity in front of us on Tuesday. Getting to play for another district title is something that not everybody gets to do, so for us to get to go play in it again, we're fortunate. We're going to take advantage of it."
A career game for Fisher
Lewiston, which swept Moscow by wide margins in both regular-season encounters, came out of the gates a little flat, coughing up a turnover to the Bears on its opening possession and going scoreless for almost two minutes.
Then senior Mason Way, who, in the words of Malm, was electric and exhibited "phenomenal senior leadership," fought through a den of Bears for an offensive rebound, whipped the ball to a wide-open Fisher beyond the arc and the purple-and-gold-clad majority took a collective breath as the ball swished through the net.
Fisher's first of four triples gave the Bengals a 3-2 lead that they would not concede the rest of the way.
He had his second triple on the Bengals' next possession.
Fisher, who accounted for six points in the first quarter, did not slow down. The senior made seven shots from the floor in the second quarter and accounted for 22 of the Bengals' 30 first-half points.
"I liked how he did what the team needed when the team needed it," Malm said of Fisher. "Tonight he stepped up. We weren't scoring it at a super high clip and he stepped up and made some shots for us, and carried us in that first half."
Fisher tacked on 11 more points to the second half before being subbed out of the game.
Lewiston junior Will Bobeck said that among the most impressive qualities of Fisher's game is his ability to create his own shots.
"(When) someone guards him really hard, he'll still shoot it," Bobeck said. "He'll still have a high-percentage shot, and he can get to a spot so easily, even if there's two, three people on him."
Fisher said that's something he has focused on, especially as he's grown and gotten stronger.
So, how does Fisher feel when he's in a flow state en route to a career-high point total?
"I feel like myself," Fisher said. "I just don't really feel anything, you know, I just don't really think. Shoot it, pass it, drive it, score."
Effort through adversity
Daily headlines, straight to your inboxRead it online first and stay up-to-date, delivered daily at 7 AM
Trailing a more-than-likely state-bound team by just five points after eight minutes is, to Moscow coach Mark Smith, a sign of the Bears' progress.
"Well-run program, well-coached, has been for years, and we played them better than we did the first (two) times," Smith said of Lewiston. "And showed a lot of heart, a lot of effort. That's the message: 'Let's carry that on to Tuesday.'"
Moscow showed some defensive spunk early on and found some late offensive success.
Jonas Mordhorst led Moscow with 15 points and Abram Godfrey, who did not have a basket until the second half, sank a hat trick of 3-pointers in an 11-point performance.
"I love these boys. I've coached them for four years," Smith said. "Seeing them grow as athletes and as young men, too, has been a really positive and rewarding thing."
'Five on 5,000'
Late in the game, Bobeck got his chance.
The junior — who this time last year hardly saw the floor — got the ball in his hands, sank a 3-pointer and stuck out three fingers in celebration as he leapt up and down, serenaded by the roars of approval of his student section, which stood directly behind him.
"It meant a lot, man," Bobeck said. "The 3 was amazing. The crowd, the energy, everything was surreal. It was just a really amazing moment for me."
The Bengals hope that there can be more of those moments to come during the district final on Tuesday.
Malm said that he hopes that the community packs the gym and turns LHS into North Carolina's Smith Center or Gonzaga's Kennel to support the Bengals as they have all year.
"It's one thing to play five on five. It's another thing to play five on 500 or five on 5,000 and we have the community to do it," Malm said. "This is one of the few communities where the high school programs are still the front porch to the community.
"If we can come together and pull in one direction on Tuesday night, I think that we're giving ourselves a great opportunity to win, and I think it's going to be a great experience for everybody."
MOSCOW (3-19)
Spencer Leisinger 0 0-0 0, Abram Godfrey 3 2-3 11, Keaton Frei 2 2-4 7, Jonah Couch 0 0-0 0, Lukas Brown 0 0-0 0, Jericho Pike 2 0-2 4, Curtis Carr 2 2-2 6, Josh Gordon 0 0-0 0, Ethan Maxcer 0 0-0 0, Jonas Mordhorst 7 1-2 15. Totals 16 7-13 43.
LEWISTON (19-3)
Royce Fisher 13 3-3 33, Krew DeGroot 0 0-0 0, Jordan Walker 5 0-0 12, Peyton Walker 1 1-4 2, Drew Haines 2 0-2 4, Brady Rudolph 2 0-0 5, Blaze Hepburn 0 0-0 0, Will Bobeck 2 0-0 5, Braylon Howland 0 0-0 0, DJ Wilkerson 1 0-0 2, Mason Way 2 0-0 2. Totals 27 4-7 66.
Moscow 5 6 12 20—43
Lewiston 10 20 15 21—66
3-point goals — Godfrey 3, Frei, Fisher 4, J. Walker 2, Rudolph, Bobeck.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, [email protected], or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
Continue reading...
