Boys lose two games

On Feb. 8, the Badgers played well for three quarters before their shots stopped falling and St. Maries heated up to win the game 55-35.

Warren Joiner came out of the gate strong for St. Maries, scoring 13 of the Jacks’ 17 first quarter points. After that the Badgers’ defense stiffened and held the Lumberjacks to only 12 points in the next two quarters.

St. Maries’ high-pressure defense gave the Badgers problems, but Bonners attacked more aggressively than the last meeting with the Jacks in January.

Kyler Rice led the Badgers with 10 points, and Ryan Farrens added another nine. After an impressive third quarter, the Badgers pulled the game even at 29. With one minute into the fourth and the score knotted at 31, Austin Linnemeyer drained back-to-back three pointers for St. Maries, which ignited a 24-4 run to end the game.

We played well for about 25 minutes, but when St. Maries opened up a six-point lead in the fourth, we started rushing our shots too much, and they just didn’t fall. The pace of the game picked up and St. Maries seemed to hit every shot that they took. It was disappointing to play so well for the majority of the game for it to end the way it did.

The Badgers celebrated Senior Night on Feb. 9 during their game against Timberlake.

The Badger seniors--Isaac Price, Garrett Skeen, Brenden Evans, Evan Moe, Ryan Farrens, and Kody Rice -entered the night prepared to give the Timberlake Tigers their first league loss.

After a slow start, the Badgers gave the Tigers, who are ranked fourth in the state, all they could handle. After the first three minutes, Timberlake took a 12-2 lead and seemed poised to blow the Badgers out.

However, Bonners came together and went on an 11-4 run in the next four minutes to cut the lead to three, but a last second three-pointer by Johnny Hayden extended the lead to six at the end of the first.

The Badgers, led by Evan Moe’s 12 points and Ryan Farrens’ 11, played the Tigers evenly the next two quarters and at one point cut the lead to four. However, a short run by Timberlake at the end of the third widened the gap to eight going into the fourth.

In the final frame, the Badgers tried to crawl back into it, but they missed several open shots in the last three minutes, and Timberlake hit seven of nine free throws in the final quarter to seal the game 65-53.

We played hard and had plenty of opportunities to win the game. At times, we fell into playing an up-tempo pace, which

See BADGERS, B-2

BOYS

From B-1

favors the Tigers. We need to make some adjustments with our transition defense and look to move the ball quicker on offense to create driving lanes and wear out the opponent. If we can improve a few fundamentals and take care of the ball better, I can see us making a strong run in the district tournament.

Bonners Ferry- 11 9 9 6 -- 35

St. Maries- 17 10 2 26 -- 55

BONNERS FERRY: Price 0, Skeen 3, Ky. Rice 10, Pluid 3, Evans 3, Moe 5, Farrens 9, Rice 2

ST. MARIES: Joiner 24, Stapleton 6, Bedwell 0, Ryle 0, Posselt 0, Feasline 4, Linnemeyer 12, Cordell 2, L. Feasline 3

Timberlake- 19 10 18 18 -- 65

Bonners Ferry- 13 10 16 14 -- 53

TIMBERLAKE: Cramer 8, McNamara 4, Masterson 8, Hayden 26, Foster 0, Blayne 3, Scott 6, Allen 2, Thomspon 8

BONNERS FERRY: Price 2, Skeen 5, Rice 7, Pluid 4, Woods 8, Evans 2, Moe 12, Farrens 11, Rice 2