Bulldogs suffer hard-luck loss to West Valley at buzzer

SPOKANE — The Bulldogs were able to overcome fatigue, foul trouble, a tough road crowd and a double digit deficit to lead West Valley by one point with .5 seconds left on the clock late Wednesday night in nonleague boys basketball at West Valley High School.

What they couldn’t overcome was the home timekeeper’s slow finger, as West Valley made the most of half a second and made a game winning 3-pointer from 28 feet out for the win at the buzzer.

Sandpoint head coach Tyler Haynes called the outcome disappointing.

“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” described Haynes of the disputed buzzer beater. “The ball went through his (shooter’s) hands, hit the ground and he picked it up and shot it in .5 seconds.”

Nonetheless, Haynes was happy with the way his team battled, playing their fifth game in an eight day span. Stefan Buratto led the Bulldogs (2-3) in scoring for the fifth consecutive time, tallying 19 points in defeat. Brandon Lawrence added nine points, Skyler Tucker seven, and Brandon Hawkins led the team with 5 assists against  just one turnover. Blaine Shutlz led the Bulldogs with six boards.

“We overcame a lot of obstacles and stayed mentally focused,” said Haynes. “We were leading on the road at West Valley with half a second to go; I’m very proud of that.”

The Bulldogs will have plenty of time to rest up, with their next game at Post Falls on Jan. 6.

Sandpoint    10   11   12   14 — 47

West Valley  12   11   15   11 — 49

SANDPOINT — Hubbard 0, Paull 0, Tucker 7, Lawrence 9, Buratto 19, Olin 3, Hawkins 1, Shultz 4, Fuhrman 4.