EAGLE, Idaho — St. Maries boy's basketball claimed the Idaho 2A State Championship with a thrilling 51-50 win over Ambrose on Saturday.
The lumberjacks led by as many as 10, but were down 50-45 with about a little under a minute and a half to go in the game.
They found their way back in large part to Tristan Gentry. He got an offensive rebound down 50-46, scored a layup and made it a two point game.
With the team down 50-59, he rebounded another free throw and then drew a foul on his shot attempt. He made both free throws to take the 51-50 lead.
The Lumberjacks then got a stop on defense and ran out the clock after that.
Gentry finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
"I really didn't want to lose that game at all," he said. "So I pushed through being tired and everything to get it done."
With the win, the program won its first state title since 1960.
After the game, the team lifted up Carson Wicks with the trophy. Wicks is a senior on the team who has Williams Syndrome.
"It was special," he said.
The Lumberjacks made it to the title game after Colby Renner made a buzzer beater to win the game against North Fremont in the semifinals. He was thrilled to win it all.
It was pretty surreal realizing we were the best team in Idaho 2A state championships this year," he said.
