Bulldogs' season ends with loss at Moscow
MOSCOW — A second quarter shooting drought proved costly in the Bulldogs’ final game of the season, as Sandpoint was outscored 16-3 in the pivotal quarter of a 55-37 loss to Moscow in the 4A Region 1 boys basketball championship game Thursday night at the Bear Den.
The Bulldogs (11-13) jumped out to an early 6-4 lead, but would score only four points in the next 15 minutes of action, as the Bears (8-13) scored 28 of the next 34 points to effectively put the game away and earn the lone 4A North berth in the state tournament.
Jackson Olin led the Bulldogs with 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, capping a solid district tournament.
“Jackson showed a lot of heart, playing every minute of the game,” said Sandpoint head coach Tyler Haynes of his junior shooting guard. “They (Moscow) were all over him. To get those field goals took a tremendous amount of effort. He really stepped up and had a good district tournament.”
After two postponements earlier in the week, the Bulldogs finally made their second trip to Moscow in the tournament, and had a hard time matching the much fresher Bears, who were playing just their second tournament game. The Bears built a 41-19 lead at one point as the Bulldogs simply ran out of gas.
“We had a hard time matching their intensity; they got every loose ball,” said Haynes of Moscow, putting the blame on his shoulders. “It’s my job to have us ready to play and we weren’t. They (Moscow) were far more ready to play.”
Blaine Shultz added nine points and Brandon Hawkins four points and four rebounds in defeat.
Lane Brooks and Roby Jung each scrored 12 to lead the Bears, who really came on strong in the second half of the season.
Sandpoint 7 3 13 11 — 37
Moscow 10 16 25 4 — 55
SANDPOINT — Hawkins 4, Nikssarian 0, Kennedy 0, Rains 4, Olin 15, Lewis 0, Shultz 9, Fuhrman 2, Carothers 1, Gavin 2, Howk 0, Nitcy 0.
MOSCOW — Pennington 2, Lane Brooks 12, Lewis 11, Roby Jung 12, Parkins 4, Wilder 2, Donaldson 5, Helbling 7.