Bulldogs' halftime lead slips away in a thriller against Timberlake
TIMBERLAKE — Sandpoint carried a six-point halftime lead but let it slip away in the second as the Bulldogs fell 49-46 to Timberlake.
“Although we played better than we did in our first game, we still have a long way to go,” Sandpoint head coach Wade Engelson said. “Timberlake had double figures in offensive rebounds while we turned it over 20 times. Add it all together, and we’re giving them 30 possessions. That’s gifting them the game.”
Despite fouls hampering both teams’ rhythms early on, Sandpoint’s offense established momentum due to Bruin Jones’ pair of first-quarter threes.
As a team, the Bulldogs went 4-7 from beyond the arc, although Timberlake countered by making three-point plays the old fashioned way. Tigers Sheldon Kistler and Chase Gardom crashed the boards well, baiting the smaller Bulldog roster into fouling underneath.
“I thought Bruin did a really good job leading us in the first half,” Engelson said. “His performance in the first half got us the lead. Then I thought Kobe Banks paced our team by making plays on both ends of the floor in the second half.”
This foul trouble came back to bite Sandpoint in the second half, as Ryan Russo and Kobe Banks had to play it safe.
Timberlake came out of halftime scoring on its first four possessions. As Sandpoint settled for contested jumpers, Timberlake went on a 6-0 run in 74 seconds to tie it up and forced Engelson to burn a timeout.
“When we execute our offense, we get open looks,” Engelson said. “Timberlake made us struggle by getting us in a hurry. We’re not making them play defense when we’re just coming down the court and shooting contested threes. We can get those looks whenever we want; we just have to execute.”
Inevitably, the 6-0 run coupled with Sandpoint’s foul trouble, cost them the game.
Timberlake also started hitting threes; after making one in the first half, the Tigers hit three in the second — the latter two from Kistler and Wilfong being the most critical of the bunch.
The Bulldogs pulled within three points on several occasions, but couldn’t get closer.
The fourth quarter saw several missed opportunities on both ends of the floor for Sandpoint. Five third-quarter turnovers killed momentum; the Bulldogs had 20 on the night.
Then, needing several stops down four with under three minutes to play, Sandpoint’s Elijah Larson and Kobe Banks went up for a rebound at the same time, but neither came up with it. Russo nearly stole it after the ensuing inbound, then Banks finally came up with a steal. Despite getting the stop, nearly three mintues came off the clock.
In a sequence that encapsulated the game, Banks and Larson couldn’t capitalize in the fast break situation.
“It all comes down to executing on defense too,” Engelson said. “If we box out and go get the ball, then that will prevent fouls. We can do a much better job rebounding if we ‘re boxing out and we have five guys getting the ball. We have good enough athletes to compete with guys who are a bit taller as long as we’re boxing out.”
Banks led Sandpoint with an all-around effort of 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and a block. Alex Stockton led the Bulldogs with 13 rebounds to go along with his six points, while senior point guard Bruin Jones had nine first half points but finished with 10.
The Bulldogs (0-2) will look for their first win at Bonners Ferry on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Sandpoint 13 13 7 13 — 46
Timberlake 11 9 13 16 — 49
SANDPOINT — Jones 10, Roos 6, Bailey 2, Banks 13, Casey 0, Stockton 6, Larson 4, Niemela 2, Treadway 4, Vandenberg 0.
TIMBERLAKE — Wilfong 12, Kluss 4, Gardon 11, James 9, Kistler 8, Meijerink 0, McDonald 1, Cramer 1, Dickerson 2.