Lake City Applies Pressure After Slow Start, Defense Stops Sandpoint 59-34

The Lake City High boys basketball team started its final regular-season home game similar to previous home contests - part chaotic, part brain dead.

At least Tuesday, though, the Timberwolves didn’t need more than a quarter to shake out of their walking coma.

After falling behind 9-2 for more than half the first quarter, Lake City used fullcourt pressure and combination halfcourt defenses to stall Sandpoint, 59-34, in a key Border League game.

With the win, LC (10-8 overall, 7-7) stayed just ahead of Post Falls (6-6) in the battle for middle-of-the-pack seeding for the regional tournament. LC, which defeated Post Falls earlier, visits the Trojans on Thursday.

Sandpoint (6-12, 3-11) dropped to 0-6 against Inland Empire League teams and will travel to either Post Falls or Lake City for a loser-out playoff for a regional tourney berth in two weeks.

Adding to the Bulldogs’ undoing Tuesday was some of their own undoing.

Sandpoint’s Caleb Bowman and LC’s Jacob Lenz got tied up hustling for a loose ball. As they tangled, Bowman, 6-foot-2, had his arms around the ball and was holding the 5-8 Lenz.

Bowman, called for a foul, dropped Lenz and a referee called a technical on Bowman. Seconds later, Sandpoint coach Tyler Haynes was called for a technical.

LC made just 2 of 5 free throws, but a rebound basket by J.J. Barlow on the ensuing possession made it a four-point swing and gave the T-Wolves an 18-13 lead.

LC extended the lead to 24-15 by halftime. The T-Wolves forced the majority of Sandpoint’s 27 turnovers, 22 of which came after the first quarter.

“We got after them fullcourt and that perked us up,” LC coach Jim Winger said. “We played pretty darn good defense.”

The victory was especially pleasing because LC was coming off one of its worst games of the year Saturday, a 57-47 loss at Clarkston.

“We had one of the worst halves in basketball history (at Clarkston),” Winger said. “We’ve had a knack to be like the stock market - unpredictable. We have to come back and play like this (the rest of the season). That’s the only way we can compete. When our mental frame of mind isn’t all there, some weird, weird things happen.”

LC’s Gabe Hern and Chad Cheeley each made 3-pointers in the opening 3 minutes of the second half, widening the margin to 34-17. Teammate Chad Bramlet hit an NBA-range trey at the buzzer as LC went into the final quarter leading 41-22.

Sandpoint used a 10-0 run to pull within 46-32. But that ended abruptly when Bulldog post Stefon Kleinert was called for a technical when he elbowed LC’s Griffin Rod after play was stopped with just less than 4 minutes left.

Rod was unconscious momentarily. Play was stopped for nearly 10 minutes and Rod had regained consciousness well before paramedics arrived. He was still being attended to after the game.

“Lake City didn’t lose control,” Sandpoint coach Tyler Haynes said. “They should be commended for that. The team that kept (its) composure won the game by 25 points.”

Lake City 59, Sandpoint 34

Sandpoint 11 4 7 12 - 34

Lake City 10 14 17 18 - 59

SANDPOINT - Shelton 0, Nieman 10, Bowman 6, Watson 0, Menard 4, Gehring 10, Kleinert 4, Singleton 0, Rust 0, Rinaldi 0.

LAKE CITY - Hern 13, Bramlet 13, Cheeley 6, Reiswig 2, Lenz 0, Barlow 2, Schuh 2, Nipp 7, Stroh 2, Everson 2, Thiringer 8, Bemis 2, Keefer 0.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo