Tough second half dooms Sandpoint boys

SANDPOINT - Up 25-20 at half time, it looked like host Sandpoint was primed to pull off the upset and take down Post Falls in Inland Empire League boys basketball Thursday night at Les Rogers Court.

It took just two minutes of the third quarter for the Trojans to put an end to that notion, as they came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team, outscoring Sandpoint 41-16 in the second half en route to a 61-41 win.

Head coach Mike McLean said he never talked about any X's or O's at halftime, opting to take a slightly different route. It worked, as Post Falls (9-1, 2-1 IEL) scored 10 points in the first two minutes of the second half to turn the tide and regain the lead for good.

"I just challenged them as individual competitors," said McLean, who felt his team had also played flat in a loss to Lake City. "We had played six uninspired quarters in a row and we finally relaxed and played. Kevin Muncey and Cody Anderson played really well defensively off the bench in the second half."

Senior Justin Carter led the Trojans with a game-high 22 points, and Anderson grabbed nine rebounds, including seven in the fourth quarter alone.

Tanner French led Sandpoint (3-6, 0-3 IEL) with 17 points and four assists, and spearheaded a great first half for the Bulldogs by nailing four 3-point bombs, as well as scoring all 11 of his team's points in the first quarter. Spencer Swerin added nine points and six rebounds for Sandpoint, which gave the Trojans too many second chance points.

"We set the gauge in the first half but came out flat in the second half," explained Sandpoint coach Tyler Haynes, tipping his hat to the No. 4 ranked 5A team in the state. "Post Falls deserves the credit. The changed the aspect of the game with their intensity and we couldn't counter."

Sandpoint heads to Bonners Ferry on Saturday as part of the Moose Madness spirit competition.

Post Falls   8    12    19    22 - 61

Sandpoint  11   14    11     5  - 41

POST FALLS - Winn 0, Litalien 1, Hill 4, Cozzens 0, Muncey 2, Mal. Colbert 15, Mar. Colbert 7, Carter 22, Anderson 6, Cragin 4.

SANDPOINT - Olin 6, French 17, Lawrence 0, Cafferty 0, Siegel 2, Swerin 9, Locascio 0, Buratto 7.