PREP BASKETBALL: Boys ranked No. 2 in 3A, Badgers win Battle of the Border
RATHDRUM — The visiting Badgers, ranked No. 2 in 3A this week by the state’s media, got nine 3-pointers from five different players, and rolled past the Hawks on senior night at Hawk Court.
The Badgers advance to a nine-game winning streak.
Junior Asher Williams made four 3s and scored 32 points for Bonners Ferry (15-3).
“They shot it really well, right from the get-go, and it came from a lot of different areas,” Lakeland coach Tony Hanna said. “They just play super unselfish, make the extra pass, and shoot the ball well. It wasn’t fun to watch tonight because it was against us, but if I was watching them play any other basketball team, they would be fun to watch.”
The Badgers play 3A Timberlake (5-12) in Spirit Lake at 7 p.m. to round out league play.
BF: 24 19 25 18 — 86
Lakeland: 10 10 24 9 — 53
BONNERS FERRY — Jiminez 0, Blackmore 0, Rice 7, Smith 3, Hinthorn 5, Williams 32, Th. Bateman 17, Tr. Bateman 14, Abubakari 8.
LAKELAND — Norce 7, Hensley 10, Ferguson 0, Ryan 8, Tebbe 0, Varner 6, Weil 6, Cook 0, Hillman 7, Carrel 2, Harris 1, Yager 6.
GIRLS
Lakeland 75, Bonners Ferry 60
BONNERS FERRY — Junior Landree Simon scored 10 of her team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and senior Lila Kiefer added 12 in the final quarter for the Hawks in a nonleague win over the Badgers.
Senior Kyla Holte had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Lakeland (9-8).
Freshman Taren Bateman scored 27 points for Bonners Ferry (9-7), which is off until Game 1 of the best-of-3 game 3A District 1 playoff at Timberlake on Monday.
“Bonners did a lot of things defensively tonight that I thought were impressive,” Derrick said. “With the limited rotation they have, they attacked us as good as anybody this entire year. Bateman is a great player who makes the right plays and will be a common name in North Idaho for the next four years.”
The Badgers will play at Timberlake on Monday. The Tigers won the two-man league 2-0 against Bonners Ferry. In the first contest, at the Backwoods Brawl on Jan. 20, the Badgers led until just over 2 minutes were left in the game when the Tigers went on a 10-point run to win 66-61. The Badgers haven’t beaten Timberlake since the 2012-13 season, 51-36.
On Jan. 24 to round out the league, the Tigers started hot and led the Badgers the entire contest, earning home court advantage in the best-of-3 game District 1 tournament.
IML league districts will be in Spirit Lake Feb. 5.
Lakeland 18 16 13 28 — 75
Bonners Ferry 7 20 22 11 — 60
LAKELAND — Simon 26, K. Kiefer 2, H. McMurray 0, Holte 14, Vopat 0, J. McMurray 0, Forsman 0, L. Kiefer 25, Bretveld 5, Sterling 3.
BONNERS FERRY — Petesch 0, Kimball 5, Baisden 0, Pluid 21, Bateman 27, Mierke 0, Abubakari 8, Hiatt 0.
Badgers win Battle of the Border
BF 76, Lincoln County 45
BONNERS FERRY — Asher Williams led the Badger boys basketball (14-3) with 31 points to defeat the Lincoln County Lions (10-4) in the Battle of the Border, a yearlong sports competition against schools.
Bonners Ferry head coach Nathan Williams was excited for the match up, considering Lincoln County's strong record.
“We had 18 offensive boards, the most we’ve had all year,” Williams said. “With us hitting these boards against a big strong team like Lincoln County I think was the difference.”
In the first quarter, the Badgers did not shoot well, but made up for it by nabbing up 11 offensive rebounds and making second chance shots.
Williams commended Asher Williams, Thomas Bateman and Trey Bateman for making the right plans and moving the ball.
BF: 21 26 9 10 — 76
Lincoln County: 11 14 12 8 — 45
BF: Blackmore 3, Rice 7, Smith 1, Hinthorn 7, Williams 31, Th. Bateman 14, Tr. Bateman 5, Abubakari 7.
GIRLS
BF 89, Lincoln County 58
Freshmen Taren Bateman scored a career high of 40 points against the Lincoln County Lions (4-6) on Tuesday, Jan. 23 leading the Badgers to a 89-58 victory on Senior Night.
Bonners Ferry (11-6) was down by seven in the first quarter with the Lions leading 17-10. Bateman went on to score 14 of her 40 points in the second quarter, with the Badgers leading 35-27 at half time.
BF: 10 25 28 26 — 89
Lincoln County: 17 10 14 17 — 58
BF: Petesch 0, Kimball 7, Baisden 4, Pluid 7, Bateman 40, Mierke 2, Abubakari 27, Hiatt 2.
Lincoln County: Miller 9, Sharp 6, Chaney 2, Truman 2, Meesuig 0, Van Orden 8, Guckenbert 10, Stranger 8, Casazza 13, Conard 0.
The Battle of the Border was created between the two schools in 2021. Each sport contest between the two schools is record and the school with the most wins, receives the trophy for a year. From 2023 spring sports to winter 2024, Bonners Ferry has won.
Badgers Sweep Cougars
BOYS
BF 70, Stillwater 42
KALISPELL — Badger boys basketball (13-3, 1-0) notched a seven game winning streak, defeating the Stillwater Christian Cougars (9-7, 5-0) on Friday, Jan, 25, 70-42.
The Badgers had a comfortable 16 point lead at half time, but the Cougars kept pace with Bonners in the third quarter, scoring 13-12.
The Badgers put the Cougars away in the fourth quarter, expanding their 15 point lead to 28, claiming another victory.
Asher Wiliams led the Badgers with 31 points, followed by Thomas and Trey Bateman chipping 10 points each.
BF: 22 17 12 19 — 70
Stillwater: 12 11 13 6 — 42
BF: Blackmore 7, Rice 2, hinthorn 8, Williams 31, Th. Bateman 10, Tr. Bateman 10, Abubakari 2.
Stillwater: Pond 3, Bah 8, Linn 4, Strobel 14, Dudley 4, Buzzard 2, Shawbak 7.
GIRLS
BF 70, Stillwater 27
KALISPEL— Fresh off losing league play, the Badgers (12-7, 0-2) swept the Stillwater Christian Cougars (1-5, 0-0) 70-27.
Taren Bateman led Bonners Ferry with 23 points. Seniors Asha Abubakari added 18 and Markynn Pluid chipped in 10.
BF: 21 19 16 14 — 70
Stillwater: 4 10 11 2 — 27
BF: Petesch 0, Kimball 9, Baisden 6, Pluid 10, Bateman 23, Mierke 2, Abubakari 18, Hiatt 2.
Brady Hinthorn plays defense against the Lincoln County Lions during the Battle for the Border on Jan. 29.