Bulldogs fall to No. 1-ranked Spartans

PRIEST RIVER — Priest River, the No. 1 ranked 3A team in the state, shot 10 of 18 from beyond the arc on the way to a 20 point win over Sandpoint Monday night in a nonleague boys basketball in Priest River.

Junior Max Salesky had the hot hand, hitting four three-point shots and scoring a game-high 26 points.  Priest River (14-3) pushed a two point lead to 10 by half and 19 going into the final period through their perimeter play.

“It was a very physical game tonight and I thought the kids all played really hard,” said Spartan coach Ryan Bodecker. “Max worked hard on his shot all week, so it was nice to see that from him; he really broke out.”

Spartan Jaden Barrett went 3-4 from three during the run to help Priest River to the non-league win.  Jake Weimer scored 13 points and senior Chad Yount was a force in the paint, grabbing 17 rebounds and chipping in nine points.

Senior Stefan Buratto scored nine points in the first quarter for the Bulldogs (6-12), but was held to just five for the remainder of the game.  Skyler Tucker scored 11 points and Brandon Lawrence scored eight to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Sandpoint travels to play Lake City on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  Priest River host Kellogg on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Sandpoint   19  11  7  17   —   54

Priest River 17 23 16 18   —   74

SANDPOINT — Paull 8, Tucker 11, Lawrence 8, Buratto 14, Olin 5, Hawkins 4, Shultz 2, Fuhrman 2, Smith 0.

PRIEST RIVER — Barrett 13, Douglas 3, Simpkins 2, Salesky 26, Collins 0, Holbrook 6, Weimer 13, Yount 9, Payment 2.