Bulldogs fall in semis; play for trophy today

BOISE — They won three elimination games just to make it to state, then in the first round captured their first state tournament game in 43 years.

But the Sandpoint Bulldogs couldn’t produce one more effort for the ages Friday night.

Sandpoint struggled to score in the second half, and the Pocatello Indians surged from behind for a 53-45 victory in the semifinals of the state 4A boys basketball tournament at Borah High.

“We just kinda got stuck there in the 40s, and couldn’t quite get out of it,” Sandpoint coach Tyler Haynes said. “We put ourselves in a pretty good position to finish off that game. Pocatello deserves all the credit, they played really well, and made the defensive stops they needed to make.”

Sandpoint (10-15) will play Jerome (23-3) today at 10 a.m. PST for third and fifth places. AM 1400 will carry the game live.

Sandpoint, which beat Bishop Kelly of Boise on Thursday, led 27-23 at halftime vs. Pocatello, shooting 56.3 percent (9 of 16) from the field. But the Bulldogs went just 8 of 23 (34.8 percent) in the second half, including 0 for 11 from 3-point range.

“They fouled a lot early, and they moved their feet better in the second half, and stopped our penetrations,” Haynes said of Pocatello. “And we had some bad possessions. 

“I want to give those guys (the Indians) credit. (Michael) Decker (who guarded Stefan Buratto) is fantastic defensively. … give them credit for making those stops. I think we did the things we needed to do to score, we just couldn’t quite turn the corner on them.”

Meanwhile, Pocatello (14-14) played better offensively in the second half. After going 9 for 25 (36 percent) in the first half, the Indians worked the ball inside and made 10 of 14 (71.4 percent) from the field in the second half.

“That was the bulk of our conversation at halftime,” Pocatello coach Lee Ralphs said. “I thought we were way too impatient against that zone, we rushed some things, we forced some bad passes. At halftime we said calm down, be a little more patient, let’s get the ball inside, make a few extra passes and things will go our way.”

“The difference was, they were shooting jump shots that first half, and they’re not a jump shot shooting team,” Haynes said. “What they got was penetration (in the second half) … and they were getting 2-foot shots.  It was more just better shot selection than anything.”

Buratto led the Bulldogs with 14 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half that gave Sandpoint the lead at intermission. Point guard Tanner French added 12 points, three assists and three steals, and Spencer Swerin had 12 points and nine rebounds.

“My hat goes off to Sandpoint, that’s a quality ballclub,” Ralphs said. “I thought the dribble penetration hurt us the first half. We said let’s make them jump shooters, like they did us.”

Decker, an athletic 6-foot-3 senior guard/post, scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and he also had six rebounds. Shae Andrews and Colter Morton, who also played in the post, added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Sandpoint will try to bounce back and try to win a trophy today. It is believed the Bulldogs have never brought home a trophy from the state boys basketball tournament.

“Were disappointed, and it’s fine to be disappointed, but I can’t be more proud of a group of kids than I am now,” Haynes said. “I’m just happy we get to play again; I get one more night with these guys.”

Sandpoint 121599—45

Pocatello8151614—53

SANDPOINT — Olin 6, French 12, Lawrence 1, Cafferty 0, Siegel 0, Swerin 12, Shultz 0, Buratto 14, Tucker 0. Totals 17-39 7-12 45.

POCATELLO — Jenkins 0, Johnson 5, Korrell 2, Morton 10, Pearson 7, Helton 0, Matson 0, Sheppard 0, Hancock 0, Decker 18, Pollard 0, Andrews 11. Totals 19-39 13-20 53.

n Spartans fall in 3A semis

MERIDIAN — Jake Weimer went off for 17 points, and Eric Holbrook and Max Salesky added 12 apiece, but it wasn’t enough as the Spartans fell behind early and never recovered in a 56-41 loss to Shelley Friday night at Meridian High School.

The Spartans (19-2) fell behind 14-2 to start the game, then rallied to close the gap to four at half time, before Shelley (15-11) outscored them 21-12 in the third quarter and put the game away.

The Spartans will face Sugar-Salem today for the third place trophy. Tip off is at 10 a.m. at Meridian High School.

n Host of North Idaho teams remain alive for final day

Inland Empire League power Lewiston beat Twin Falls 60-51 Friday to earn a berth in the 5A state championships game, where they’ll face Madison today.

Madison beat IEL champion Post Falls 53-47 in the other 5A semi-final.

Wallace, of the North Star League, beat Cascade 70-50 in the consolation bracket of the 1A tournament, and will play for the fourth place trophy today.