The Wildcats also had major support from Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving, who gave the team several shout-outs on social media.

“When the boys got the message from Kyrie, it showed that they were playing for more than themselves,” Eastman said. “They weren’t even playing for just the team at that point. They were playing for the entire community.”

The road to the championship didn’t come easy for Lapwai. It suffered a tough, 60-55 Whitepine League Division I loss at Genesee on Feb. 5. It served as a wake-up call to the Wildcats, Eastman said.

“That game showed that we have to leave everything on the court no matter how good we think we are,” Eastman said. “We can always lose a ­basketball game. We looked at it as a positive rather than a negative.”

 

That fueled a run that saw Lapwai its final nine games, with the only close contest a Feb. 8, 75-66 win against Class 2A state champion St. Maries.

 

Continuity will be key for the Wildcats heading into this season, as the same starting five who made up the starters in the March 5 title game against Riverstone will be the starters in the season opener at 7 p.m. Friday against the Lumberjacks at St. Maries.

“Over the summer, we were in the weight room getting stronger,” Eastman said. “Experience is going to be a huge difference-maker for us. This is the first year where I’ve had a bunch of seniors.”

One that stands out to Eastman, and most everyone else in the state, is University of Idaho commit Titus Yearout.

Yearout, a 6-foot-2 senior, helped the Wildcats to their 11th state championship this past year. The 175-pounder, who can play each guard position, averaged 22.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.0 steals and one block per game in 2020-21, leading Lapwai to a 20-4 overall record, including a first-place, 13-1 mark in the Whitepine League Division I standings. He was the WPL player of the year for the second consecutive season, and was named by the Idaho Statesman as the state’s player of the year.

“He’s a three-year starter and he’s becoming a coach on the floor during games,” Eastman said. “He makes calls on defense and I have so much trust in him. We both know what to expect. We’re going to attempt to go to the championship through his leadership.”

Kase Wynott, who was the state tournament MVP also is back. He grew four inches during the offseason and now is a stout 6-7.

In 2020-21, Lapwai averaged a state classification high of 77 points per game. But Eastman is zoning in on the Wildcats’ defensive prowess.

 

“It starts on defense. We have a naturally good offense, but our defense really steps up when we need it to,” he said. “We have size, strength and athletic ability. We use that to make teams play at our pace. We’re bringing everyone back, so everyone has to do that again.”

 

Eastman made sure the nonleague schedule will prepare them accordingly for another title run.

After St. Maries, which the Wildcats also will play at home on Feb. 8, Lapwai will swing up north to play at Coeur d’Alene on Dec. 18 and North Central in Spokane on Dec. 21. The Wildcats also will be competing in the Avista Holiday Tournament at Lewis-Clark State College’ Activity Center. Lapwai is the lone Class 1A team participating in the event.

“To be the best, you have to face the best,” Eastman said. “We take losses as positives and we want to play the best, which is important for our program to see where it’s going to go.”