Badgers top Wallace, split road games
Photo by Tanna Yeoumans Chris Sabin manuvering around the defense.
Photo by Tanna Yeoumans They shoot, and they scored.
Photo by Tanna Yeoumans Dylan Hittle works with teammates to score.
Photo by Tanna Yeoumans The Badgers score just before halftime of their Dec. 5 game against visiting Wallace.
Photo by ERIC PLUMMER/Bonner County Daily Bee Bonners Ferry’s Seth Bateman (5) leaps for the opening tip against Sandpoint’s 6-foot-6 T.J. Davis to begin the Badgers’ Saturday game in Sandpoint. Bateman scored 15 points in the contest, but the Bulldogs won 75-66.
BONNERS FERRY — The boys basketball team had a busy week against non-conference foes, winning at home against Wallace and on the road at Cusick, Wash., while concluding the week with a hard-fought loss at Sandpoint.
n Against the Miners on Dec. 5, Brady Bateman scored 22 points and Chris Sabin added 13 as the Badgers topped Wallace 68-53.
“We played pretty good in this game. I thought the guys shared the ball well and we had some great intensity throughout the game,” said coach Andy Rice. “We held the lead for most of the game, but it felt like they were right there the whole time. Thought it was a good game for us to hold off a team and finish strong and get the win.”
n Two days later, the boys traveled to Cusick and opened up a double-digit lead in the first half en route to a 78-66 win over the Panthers.
“We were able to put a lot of defensive pressure on Cusick and get some nice transition buckets,” said Rice. “Our press looked good and we did a good job getting to the rim. I wasn’t very happy about how we finished though, we let them get a lot of easy 3-pointers and they made a run at us.”
n Sandpoint used a distinct height advantage, timely 3-point shooting and a huge second quarter to beat visiting Bonners Ferry 75-66 on Dec. 9.
Alex Stockton did the bulk of his damage on the blocks, scoring 18 points while blocking four shots and controlling the glass on both ends of the floor for the Bulldogs (3-2), who built a double-digit halftime lead with a strong 24-11 second quarter.
At times, the Bulldogs had five players on the floor taller than the tallest Badger, which led to lots of second-chance points. T.J. Davis, who stands 6-foot-6, scored a season-high 13 points for Sandpoint.
Dylan Hittle scored 17, Chris Sabin 16 and Seth Bateman 15 to lead the Badgers, as the quick trio of guards were able to get to the rim early and often.
“Definitely the best team we have played so far, and they had a big size advantage on us,” said Rice. “It felt like we did not execute our game plan well enough in the first half. We made some adjustments at half and made a good run at it. We were down by 20 but got back to within 5. I thought we fought hard and really liked how we played. We got the looks we wanted, just missed too many shots. Sandpoint shot very well in the second half to hold us off.”
The next three games the boys are scheduled to play are away games. Dec. 14, they play against Newport High School, Dec. 16 against Genesis Preparatory Academy at Post Falls Middle School, and Dec. 19 at Wallace High School. For more detailed scheduling, visit www.bfbadgers.com
Wallace 15 10 15 13 — 53
BFHS 22 11 17 18 — 68
BONNERS FERRY — Seamus Ryan 4, Chris Sabin 13, Seth Bateman 8, Dylan Hittle 7, Kendall Stone 0, Pacen Pluid 8, Reece Bell 6, Brady Bateman 22, Christian Winder 0.
BFHS 24 13 19 22 — 78
Cusick 13 10 13 30 — 66
BONNERS FERRY —Seamus Ryan 0, Chris Sabin 27, Seth Bateman 18, Dylan Hittle 8, Kendall Stone 0, Pacen Pluid 0, Reece Bell 10, Brady. Bateman 8, Christian Winder 7.
BFHS 13 11 19 23 — 66
Sandpoint 11 24 20 20 — 75
BONNERS FERRY — Seamus Ryan 0, Chris Sabin 11, Seth Bateman 15, Dylan Hittle 18, Kendall Stone 0, Pacen Pluid 4, Reece Bell 6, Brady Bateman 9, Christian Winder 0.
SANDPOINT — Vernon 7, Dalthorp 10, Niemela 11, Davis 13, Treadaway 0, Johnson 12, VanDenBerg 2, Pettit 2, Stockton 18.