Bulldog boys notch big win over 5A Bengals

SANDPOINT — Basketball wins by Sandpoint against Lewiston are few and far between, which made the Bulldog boys’ decisive 58-45 win over the Bengals in nonleague hoops on Monday night at Les Rogers Court that much sweeter.

Jeremiah Gagnon was right at his season average, pouring in 21 points to go with nine rebounds, and the Bulldogs (8-6) started strong and ended strong to pick up a rare win against a 5A opponent.

“Lewiston has had our number,” said Bulldogs head coach Tyler Haynes. “Anytime you can play a 5A and get a double-digit win is a good thing.”

Haynes lauded the play of his bench, which came up big on Martin Luther King Day after a tough league battle on Saturday night. Thomas Edwards dropped in 11 points, carrying the scoring load in the first half, Carlos Collado added nine points on some solid low post moves, and Chase Rodriguez swatted four shots, protecting the rim defensively.

Jaydan Kaufman scored 23 points to lead the Bengals (3-10), but had trouble scoring in the fourth quarter as Dylan Kuzmich locked him up defensively.

“Dylan likes an alley fight, and he shut (Kaufman) down in the fourth quarter,” said Haynes, who also praised the play inside of Ian Breuner. “It was a solid team win. Every player had a big part of that victory.”

Sandpoint faces Lakeland in a pivotal league clash on Thursday night.

Lewiston  11   12   13   9 — 45

Sandpoint 17    9   17   15 — 58

LEWISTON — Fuentes 9, Urquhart 0, Jaydan Kaufman 23, Hewett 6, Carter 2, Whitlock 0, Ulrich 5, Sager 0.

SANDPOINT — Timothy 0, Jurenka 0, Rodriguez 6, Kuzmich 5, Schwartz 6, Edwards 11, Gagnon 21, Collado 9.