PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Sandpoint falls to Bonners Ferry in season opener

Extended Recap from Sunday's paper

Bonners Ferry 80, Sandpoint 44

SANDPOINT — Sophomore Knox Williams had a team-high 10 points and added three assists as the Bulldogs struggled to find their groove in a season-opening road loss to the Badgers on Saturday.

Bonners Ferry, led by Montana Tech commit Asher Williams' 24 points, started the game on a 14-5 run and then led 32-14 with 5:43 to go in the second quarter after a 10-0 run. Peyton Hinthorn, who had 12 points for the Badgers, hit a buzzer-beating halfcourt shot to put Bonners Ferry ahead 42-27 before the break.

"It was two turnovers and a bad shot that put the lead back up to 15," Sandpoint High head coach Brian Childs said. "We were swimming upstream the whole night. Out of their 42 points in the first half, I bet 30 of them were layups."

Bonners Ferry held Sandpoint to six points in the third quarter and eventually extended their lead to 36 in the fourth, their largest of the game.

"You have to give them their credit," coach Childs said about Bonners Ferry. "They're fundamentally sound ... they've been playing together since the third grade. We had a hard time matching their physicality and that was our No. 1 point of emphasis coming into this game."

Sandpoint High junior Kingston Corbett had nine points, three rebounds and three blocks, senior Emerik Jones eight points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss. Sophomore Brock Yarbrough had seven points in his varsity debut while senior Wil Leisy added six points, all of which came from behind the 3-point line.

"We certainly have some work to do and it's not going to get any easier," Childs said. "We play Kendrick this weekend, a state title team from two years ago and the state runner-up last year, and they have a lot of guys back. We have to get back to the drawing board and need to consistently practice better."

The Bulldogs (0-1), who were outrebounded 27-16 in Saturday's contest, will travel to the Lewiston Showcase tournament this upcoming Saturday and will face Kendrick in their opening matchup.

Sandpoint 14 13 6 11 — 44

Bonners Ferry 22 20 16 22 — 80

PTS: SPT — Williams 10, Corbett 9, Jones 8, Yarbrough 7, Leisy 6, Iverson 2, Roos 2. BF — Williams 24, Rice 14, Abubakari 14, Hinthorn 12, Schrock 10, Cartwright 2, Bateman 2, Beggerly 2.

REB: SPT — Jones 5, Corbett 3, Yarbrough 2, Williams 1, Iverson 1, Leisy 1, Roos 1, Gion 1, Zimmerman 1. BF — Williams 9, Rice 7, Bateman 6, Hinthorn 3, Schrock 2.

AST: SPT — Jones 4, Williams 3, Iverson 2, Roos 2, Yarbrough 1, Corbett 1. BF — Rice 6, Hinthorn 3, Williams 3, Schrock 3.

STL: SPT — Gion 1, Jones 1. BF — Rice 3, Cartwright 2, Hinthorn 2, Williams 1, Abubakari 1.

BLK: SPT — Corbett 3. BF — Rice 1, Schrock 1.