Badgers beat tigers in double overtime
A statewide media poll voted the Bonners Ferry Badger Varsity Boys Basketball team the fifth-ranked 3-A team in the State of Idaho last week.
A day later the Badgers collided with the determined Timberlake Tiger at Spirit Lake. Although the Tigers had only five wins to their credit this season, they gave the Badgers all they could handle through regulation and double overtime before finally surrendering 68-63 to the league-leading Badgers.
It looked at first as if the Badgers might run away with the contest by scoring the first seven points of the game while holding Timberlake at zero. Once the Tigers got rolling, however, they matched Bonners Ferry score for score. Each time it seemed Bonners Ferry made a key play to finally give themselves a little breathing room, Timberlake would reach down and pull out a matching play or score of their own, finally catching the Badgers at 25-25, and even taking a 29-25 halftime lead into the locker room.
Near the end of regulation play, the teams had battled to a 51-51 tie, then with eight seconds left in the game,
Bonners Ferry had possession of the ball and called a timeout. Jesus Mendez inbounded the ball to A.J. Bennett, who found 6'4" Ryan Winebark cutting under the hoop for a shot that fell just outside of the basket at the final buzzer.
As the game went into overtime, the Timberlake crowd came alive, as they sensed an upset in the making. The Tigers took the early lead in overtime when Timberlake's Felix Schreier found himself all alone under the basket for an uncontested layin.
Badger Jesus Mendez, however, began to take control in the overtime period, putting in 4 points and grabbing 6 crucial rebounds. Josh Hawks added 3 points in the first overtime, and James Krejci put in 2. The Tigers played tough, scoring 9 points of their own. Timberlake had a chance to win the game outright at the end of the first overtime., but with the score again tied, 60-60, Tiger Levi Powers was fouled with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. He missed the front end of his one-and-one, sending the game into another overtime, significantly raising the intensity level.
The second overtime was a Badger showcase that silenced the Tiger offense virtually throughout the period, and scoring 8 points. Again, Jesus Mendez powered the Badgers with 2 more points and 3 key steals. Josh Hawks and Matt Pluid picked up rebounds and A.J. Bennett contributed 6 points in the second overtime, with Winebark pulling down 2 rebounds. Timberlake did not score at all in the second overtime until Tiger Cody Jones hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, making the final score 68-63 for the Badgers.
The next varsity game is at home on Saturday against the St. Maries Lumberjacks.
BONNERS FERRY - Pluid 3, Bennett 15, Krejci 6, J Mendez 13, Deitz 0, Mendez 0, Galloway 0, Winebark 8, Hawks 13, Heigel 0, Newhouse 10
TIMBERLAKE - Jones 9, Powers 18, Schreier 4, Gonzales 11, Crump 2, Cook 19, Jacobsen 0, Lagarmenta 0