Shadle Park's athleticism, shooting overwhelms Sandpoint

SPOKANE — Sandpoint’s five-game winning streak came to an end against Shadle Park (Wash.) on the last day of the Eagle Holiday Classic held at West Valley High School. The Highlanders (7-3) used a 17-point, first-half effort from Eastern Washington commit Jake Groves in order to pull away with the 65-50 win.

“I actually thought we played a much better game today than we did yesterday (against Davenport), even though we ended up with a win,” Sandpoint head coach Wade Engelson said. “The score was not indicative of how close the game was.”

Sandpoint (5-4) hung with the more athletic, experienced Highlanders for the first quarter before its offense stalled. Kobe Banks’ four-point play to put the Bulldogs on the board sparked a big performance from the junior; Banks led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 4-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Yet the rest of the Bulldogs struggled on offense. As a team, Sandpoint struggled to score inside: Usual offensive stalwarts Alex Stockton and Ryan Roos were held to eight points apiece.

“We got really good looks and the shots just didn’t fall for us,” Engelson said. “And (Shadle Park) is a good team. If you’re not making shots, then they’re going to get the ball and make theirs.”

Shadle Park, which features nine seniors on its roster, found its open shooters throughout the contest. Aside from Groves’ 24 points, the Highlanders also had help from Armani Luna, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half.

Sandpoint senior guard Bruin Jones led his teammates with three assists, Brandon Casey grabbed a team-high four rebounds and Will Treadaway came off the bench to add five points, two rebounds and a team-leading three blocks.

Sandpoint will take on West Valley on Jan. 5 at 6 p.m.

Sandpoint 15 7 13 15 — 50

Shadle Park 17 18 15 15 — 65

SANDPOINT — Jones 2, Banks 17, Roos 8, Casey 5, Stockton 8, Treadaway 5, Niemela 2, Bailey 3, Vandenberg 0, Larson 0, Chandler 0.

SHADLE PARK — Brown 6, Liddicoat 4, Groves 24, Luna 13, Allen 13, Doyle 4, Rainwater 0, Johnson 0, Richardson 0, Kehr 0, Hillman 0.