Johnson scores 27 but Bulldogs drop opener
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Sandpoint junior Bruin Jones looks for someone to pass to in the Bulldogs’ season opening loss to the Lumberjacks.
SANDPOINT — Robbie Johnson scored a game-high 27 points, including a rare 4 point play and 7 of 7 shooting from the foul line, but St. Maries executed its offense with precision to earn a 76-63 win over Sandpoint in a nonleague boys basketball season opener on Tuesday night at Les Rogers Court.
Jackson Pritchard hit seven first half 3-pointers en route to a team-high 26 points, and Glover Buell added 21 points to lead the 3A Lumberjacks (1-0) to the comfortable win.
Alex Stockton added 13 points, and he and Johnson were a handful for the Lumberjacks on the blocks, getting a lot of points on second chance buckets. Damien Dalthorp hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Bulldogs (0-1) cut the lead to single digits briefly, but the Lumberjacks used plus quickness to create some turnovers, and with solid shooting were in control from start to finish.
The Bulldogs will host 3A Timberlake on Thursday, before capping a busy opening week by hosting Mt. Spokane on Friday.
St. Maries 21 21 18 16 — 76
Sandpoint 12 19 17 15 — 63
St. MARIES — Sampson 4, Duffield 6, Lohman 7, Sands 9, Pritchard 26, Buell 21, Howard 3.
SANDPOINT — Vernon 7, Dalthorp 6, Niemela 4, Plummer 0, Treadaway 0, Jones 5, Johnson 27, VanDenBerg 0, Pettit 1, Casey 0, Stockton 13.