Lake City's late free throws down Bulldogs
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint senior point guard Bruin Jones dribbles right during a game against West Valley on Jan. 5.
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint fell to Lake City (3-12, 0-5 5A IEL) 45-44 on a pair of last-second free-throws on Wednesday night.
“Our guys competed every possession,” Sandpoint head coach Wade Engelson said. “They’re a 5A team and we’re a 4A team, and we held them to only 45 points in the game. So our guys battled during the game. We had rough patches in the game, but overall, we’re a much better team than we were when the season began.”
Sandpoint led 14-12 after the first quarter, but went cold in the second. Christian Niemela’s two points helped the Bulldogs avoid getting shut out as Lake City took a nine-point lead into half.
Yet Sandpoint battled back because of a team-wide defensive effort, combined with an offensive resurgence in the second half.
“All five of the guys just battled on defense,” Engelson said. “Any time you’re holding a team to five points in a quarter, you know your team is working hard.”
Alex Stockton’s free throw gave the Bulldogs a 44-43 lead with less than a minute to play. But Brayden Sundstrom was fouled on the next possession and hit both go-ahead free throws.
Sandpoint junior Ryan Roos led all scorers with 15 points, while Lake City’s Dylan Brum and Seth Hanson finished with 11 points apiece.
The Bulldogs’ home-stand continues against Bonners Ferry on Feb. 8. Lake City hosts Post Falls on Feb. 8.
Lake City 12 13 5 15 — 45
Sandpoint 14 2 14 14 — 44
LAKE CITY — Stellflug 9, Janke 1, Kiesburg 9, Spellman 0, Hanson 11, Sundstrom 4, Brum 11.
SANDPOINT — Jones 3, Banks 8, Roos 15, Niemela 4, Stockton 7, Casey 3, Treadaway 4, Bailey 0, VanDenBerg 0.