Bulldogs fall short in comeback attempt

SANDPOINT — Behind some torrid early 3-point shooting, Lake City jumped out to a 26-6 first quarter lead, then held off a furious Sandpoint comeback to win 74-64 in nonleague boys basketball action Tuesday night at Les Rogers Court.

J.J. Stoddard drained five long range bombs in the first half as Lake City built an early 21 point lead. Mark Smyly scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Chris Wheelock scored 16 points and dished out seven assists for the Timberwolves (9-5), who withstood another huge scoring night by Sandpoint guard Stefan Buratto, who dropped in 30 to lead Sandpoint in the comeback attempt.

“We’re coming off a game Friday where we shot poorly. We seem to be at one end of the extreme or the other,” said Lake City coach Jim Winger, who lauded the effort of Buratto to bring his team back. “We tried everything in the book on him, he’s just tough to stop. I’m a big fan of his.”

Skyler Tucker added 14 points for Sandpoint, Cole Furhman added 10 and Brandon Lawrence grabbed eight rebounds as the Bulldogs (4-8) closed to within four points in the fourth quarter, before finally running out of gas.

“When they jump out on you like that it’s a tough road to fight back,” said Bulldogs coach Tyler Haynes. “Give Lake City credit. When you shoot the ball like that in the first quarter you’re probably going to win.”

Sandpoint hosts Priest River, the No. 2 ranked team in 3A, tonight at 6 p.m.

Lake City  26  17  10   21 — 74

Sandpoint  6   24  17   17 — 64

LAKE CITY — Beuson 8, Smith 4, Wheelock 16, Carlson 2, Smyly 18, Philp 10, Stoddard 16.

SANDPOINT — Paull 3, Tucker 14, Lawrence 3, Buratto 30, Olin 0, Hawkins 0, Shultz 4, Fuhrman 10.