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ORDER GAME PHOTOS
After three years of near-misses and pent up frustration, the Lake City boys basketball team completed its journey on Saturday night with a 75-61 triumph over Meridian for the Class 5A championship, the first in school history.
The Warriors gave Lake City all they could handle for two and a half quarters of play, but ultimately, Lake City's skilled starting five wore down Meridian's smaller lineup and pulled away for a convincing win.
The win comes after a state championship loss to these same Warriors in 2021, and last year's first round upset loss to last-seeded Centennial.
Senior center Blake Buchanan capped his career off with a 26-point, 11-rebound performance. The University of Virginia commit also dished out three assists and came away with two steals.
But it was fellow senior Nate Hocking who earned IdahoSports.com Player of the Game honors. Hocking finished with 22 points overall, but 14 of those came in the second half to help Lake City shake off a pesky Meridian squad.
The Warriors came out blistering hot, nailing 6-of-14 three-point shots in the opening half. Meridian led 18-15 after one, and only trailed 37-33 at halftime. But those outside shots wouldn't fall in the second half, and Meridian slowly ran out of steam.
Ryan Baker led the Warriors with 14 points, while point guard Josh Christensen added ten.
MERIDIAN (16-12) - Ryan Baker 14, Josh Christensen 10, Nate Reynolds 8, Duncan Pearce 8, T.J. Sanor 5, Tristan Fortin 5, Griffin Deere 4, Carson Anderson 3, Max Gwilliam 2, Trace Horrocks 2, Eric Thomas 0, Bodi Verity 0, Carter Anderson 0, Hunter White 0, Tyler Brummer 0
LAKE CITY (26-0) - Blake Buchanan 26, Nate Hocking 22, Deacon Kiesbuy 13, Zach Johnson 7, Kolton Mitchell 7, Reese Strawn 0, Cason Miller 0, Justin Hill 0, Bryce Snow 0, Josh Watson 0
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