Bulldogs crush Spartans
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE) Freshman Parker Pettit fights through contact as he attempts a layup during Friday’s game.
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint boys basketball was looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Kellogg on Tuesday and the Bulldogs did just that storming past Priest River 72-40 Friday night as five players scored in double figures.
“What we did against Lewiston, we did it tonight,” head coach Wade Engelson said, “and if we can bring that more consistently it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to play and it’s fun to coach.”
It was an impressive performance from start to finish for Sandpoint who jumped out to a 15-0 lead on the Spartans.
The electric start came courtesy of the Bulldogs defense that forced five Priest River turnovers in the first four minutes of the game.
Sandpoint led 18-4 after the first quarter.
The Spartans attempted to fight back in the second but were unable to put together a run to reduce the deficit and trailed by 15 points at the half.
Freshman Colin Roos had 11 points in the first half and senior Brandon Casey added 10. Sandpoint took a 32-17 advantage into the locker room.
The Bulldogs came out fast in the third quarter, going on a 18-5 run to take a 20 point lead. But Priest River went on a run of its own to close the deficit down to 20 after three.
Sandpoint silenced the Spartans in the final eight minutes to seal their seventh win of the season.
The Bulldogs dominated Priest River in the second half, outscoring them 40-23.
“We’re getting to be a better home court team,” Engelson said. “We’re really starting to understand what it means to defend home court and to be successful on your home court and we’ve seen them play at a higher level.”
Colin Roos led all scorers with 15 points and six rebounds while Casey finished with 12, Kobe Banks added 11 points and six assists and Ryan Roos and Arie VanDenBerg each tallied 10 points.
Engelson said Colin has plenty of room for growth and has impacted the team every time he’s stepped on the court.
“He’s a great teammate, he’s very coachable, has a great attitude and when you see him on the court he brings tremendous hustle,” he said. “He’s gotten better every game during the course of the season.”
The Spartans turned the ball over 20 times in the game.
“That’s one of the areas we’ve improved on dramatically throughout the course of the season,” Engelson said. “When we’re playing good defense, we get after it and create a lot of turnovers.”
The Bulldogs (7-7) host 5A Lake City 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Priest River 4 13 15 8 — 40
Sandpoint 18 14 20 20 — 72
PRIEST RIVER — Mathews 2, Kreager 10, Hahn 0, Bell 4, Lucas 5, Brennan 12, Thompson 7, Yount 0.
SANDPOINT — R. Roos 10, Banks 11, Eldridge 3, VanDenBerg 10, Pettit 2, R. Lee 0, C. Roos 15, Treadaway 5, Casey 12, S. Lee 4.