PREP BASKETBALL: Sandpoint girls, boys both dominant in wins over East Valley
Sandpoint's Emerik Jones passes to a teammate in a game against West Valley on Dec. 1. Against East Valley on Saturday, Jones scored a team-high 21 points for the Bulldogs.
Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY
SPOKANE – Led by 22 points from freshman Jordyn Tomco, Sandpoint girls took down East Valley 80-14 in non-league play on Saturday.
“We started out pretty slow with some missed shots and turnovers in the first quarter,” head coach Will Love said. “Eventually, we turned things around midway through the first and were humming the entire rest of the way”.
Freshman Brecken Mire scored 11 of her 15 points in the first quarter to help the Bulldogs get out to a 20-7 lead. In the second quarter, Aliya Strock, who scored all 17 of her points in the quarter, knocked down three 3-pointers as Sandpoint took a 37-point lead into halftime.
In the second half, Tomco scored 17 out of her 22 points, and the Bulldogs cruised to a 66-point victory over the Knights. Nine different players scored for Sandpoint in the contest.
“Jordyn (Tomco) did a great job leading our bench crew, who played really well today,” Love said. “Jordyn’s worked really hard and it’s great to see that hard work pay off with the way she played this weekend… I was really pleased with that whole group, who played most of the second half.”
Love mentioned how Sandpoint’s (3-0) next matchup against the defending 5A state champions, Coeur d’Alene (5-1), is going to be a tough one, and the team will need to show up for all 32 minutes in order to grab the victory.
Sandpoint 20 27 16 17 – 80
East Valley 7 3 1 3 – 14
PTS: SPT – Tomco 22, Strock 17, Mire 15, Laybourne 9, Banks 8, Thaete 4, Driggs 2, Richardson 2, Bleckwenn 1. EV – Thomas 6, Seamone 3, Rasmussen 2, Taylor 2, Salina 1.
SPOKANE – Sandpoint boys had five players in double-figures on Saturday as they used a strong second half to defeat East Valley, 72-52 on the road.
“It was a good bounceback win for us,” head coach Brian Childs said. “It was a good team win, and every player made a contribution.”
Childs said junior Emerick Jones, who scored a team-high 21 points, and freshman Derrick Chamberlain who scored 13, had big second half performances which helped the Bulldogs turn a three-point halftime lead into a 20-point victory.
“I wouldn’t call it a sluggish start, but our wheels weren’t spinning in the first half,” Childs said. “In the second half we were able to get the ball inside to Emerick (Jones) and Derrick (Chamberlain) which helped to open up our other guys.”
Freshman Knox Williams (13), sophomore Logan Roos (11), and senior Parker Childs (10) were the three other Bulldogs who reached double-figures on the night. Caiden Gion rounded out the scoring with five points of his own.
Childs said Wil Leisy and Luke Leavitt, despite not scoring tonight, put in some quality minutes for Sandpoint.
Sandpoint (1-1) will head to Coeur d’Alene (2-0) Tuesday for what Childs said is the start of a tough week ahead for the team.
Sandpoint 11 14 21 26 – 72
East Valley 14 8 17 13 – 52
PTS: SPT – Jones 21, Williams 13, Chamberlain 12, Roos 11, Childs 10, Gion 5. EV – Mertens 12, Kinter-Burkhart 11, Layne 9, Flahavin 8, Nunn 4, Harry 3, Cloud 2, Martin 2, Anderson 1.