Bulldogs boys, girls post wins
Bulldog boys throttle Mt. Baker in NBA style game
CRANBROOK, B.C. — The 10-minute quarters and a 30-second shot clock were to the Bulldogs liking as Drake Hanson scored a season-high 32 points, including 6 3-point bombs, in leading an offensive clinic as the Bulldogs drubbed Mt. Baker 96-70 Monday night in Cranbrook.
Ryan Armbruster added 19 points, and Spencer Swerin 16 on 7 of 8 shooting as the Bulldogs (7-9) made a serious run at the century mark. There was no let up despite coming off a big win against Post Falls on Saturday and a bus ride north.
While it sounds so simple, the key to Sandpoint's success of late has been there ability to reverse the ball and get any of their stable of 3-point shooters open looks. Against Mt. Baker they shot 45-89, numbers an NBA coach would take any night.
"When we reverse the ball and get our feet set, we're pretty good shooters," said coach Tyler Haynes. "We were knocking it down."
At times all five Bulldogs can shoot from beyond the arc, making them difficult to defend. With their improved man-to-man defense of late, they appear to be peaking as they approach districts, where they'll need to knock off Inland Empire League-leading Moscow to make a third straight trip to state.
Sandpoint plays at Lewiston on Thursday night.
Sandpoint 24 21 26 25 — 96
Mt. Baker 19 15 19 17 — 70
SANDPOINT — Duarte 0, Meaux 3, Armbruster 19, P. Gibson 4, Hanson 32, K. Gibson 5, Lawrence 2, Allen 8, Swerin 16, Karle 3, Bessler 2, Keough 2.
Bulldog girls run and gun their way to win
CRANBROOK B.C. — Sandpoint guards Brittany Oakley and Christina Johnson combined to score 20 points and set an up-tempo pace as the Bulldog girls notched their second win of the season over Mt. Baker, beating the host Cranbrook school 51-45.
Head coach Jim Alsager said a 30-second shot clock and the break-neck pace of the Canadian game forced the Bulldogs (2-18) to be more aggressive than usual, and they had one of their best games of the year. Nine different players scored at least four points in the balanced scoring attack.
"We're 2-0 in international play," joked Alsager after the game. "They like to run up here and the girls finally felt an urgency. We got a few shots off transition for a change and created more shots."
Oakley had two 3-pointers and senior Krista McNeal scored five points in the third quarter as Sandpoint scored 19 points and took the game over. Lynn DiBenedetto had five points and eight rebounds, and freshman Koko James had her best game of the season as the minutes keep increasing, tallying four points, eight rebounds, four assists and the praise of her coach.
"She played solid," said Alsager of James, who had a physical game on the boards. "She plays the defensive side of the ball and has a well-rounded game."
Sandopint travels to Lewiston on Thursday for their final regular season game.
Sandpoint 10 10 19 12 — 51
Mt. Baker 10 13 11 11 — 45
SANDPOINT — Oakley 9, Johnson 11, Fuqua 4, Guercio 4, McNeal 5, Tenuto 4, James 4, DiBenedetto 5, Timblin 5.