Bulldogs down but not out

Sandpoint boys basketball played at home on Wednesday evening in their first game of three against Lakeland. It was a nail-biter until the end but the Hawks took the win 66-64 over the Bulldogs.

“Both teams competed,” head coach Brian Childs said.

It was a close first quarter between both teams. Rusty Lee shot nine of his 27 total points and Sandpoint ended the quarter trailing 18-20.

The second quarter slowed offensively. Both teams scored 11 points with Lee, Parker Pettit, Evan Dickinson, Parker Childs and Randy Lane all contributing.

“Evan stepped up, and we had some guys step up and make some plays,” Childs said.

The Bulldogs were down 31-29 at halftime.

Sandpoint went on a run halfway into the third quarter. Childs hit a 3 to take the lead, Lee sank 2-2 at the line and Dickinson had a steal and layup.

The Bulldogs led 44-38 at the end of the third.

The whole game took place within the final 6:00. Dickinson hit a 3, Lane hit a 3 and the Bulldogs led by one point with 3:00 to go.

The Hawks tied the game with 2:30 left. Lee took the lead back with a 3 then Sandpoint held onto the ball hoping for a four in the last minute.

Petit got fouled and hit 1-2 at the line. The Hawks rebounded the ball, Sandpoint stepped up on defense and a jump ball was called in favor of the Hawks with :35 to go.

Scotty Hawking, who scored 13 points in the fourth, hit two points for the Hawks and the game was tied 64-64 with :06 to go.

Lakeland called a timeout. The ball was inbounded by the Hawks who dribbled down the middle and hit two to take the lead.

“Whatever happened over here happened,” Childs said referring to some of the calls made. “But you just have to move on to the next play and unfortunately that next play, we had a breakdown defensively.”

Sandpoint called a timeout and an unsuccessful inbound play left the Bulldogs defeated.

“We’re down, but we’re not out,” Childs said. “I think we’ve shown that we can play and compete with these guys and it’s going to take a real good effort. The kids were upbeat even after the loss and we told them that we’re still in it and we have a chance to bring it back here Saturday night.”

Sandpoint will travel to Lakeland on Friday, Feb. 24 for game two of the three game district series.

Sandpoint 18 11 15 20 — 64

Lakeland 20 11 7 18 — 66

SANDPOINT — Pettit 6, Lee 27, Frank 2, VanDenBerg 8, Eacret 0, Dickinson 9, Childs 5, Lane 7.

LAKELAND — Nowell 15, Cameron 8, Ferguson 15, Ryan 5, Loutzenhiser 4, Hocking 19, Anderson 0, Locke 0.