CDA rotation too much for Sandpoint

Coeur d’Alene showed how much depth it has in its 75-50 nonleague victory over Sandpoint on Saturday at Sandpoint high school.

The Vikings had a rotation of about nine players on Saturday which made it difficult for Sandpoint to defend all of their fresh bodies.

“Obviously our starters are all great players,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jon Adams said. “But we have a deep team and everyone shared an even amount of minutes and that’ll tire out any team you go against.”

Sandpoint coach Brian Childs admitted that it was difficult for his guys to stay competitive with the Vikings rotation.

“This game really showed how deep of a team they are,” Childs said. “They’re rotating four new guys in at a time and that’s who they are, they’re a really good basketball team.”

An example of Coeur d’Alene’s depth was shown through its leading scorer Tugg Wellsandt, a bench player who had 18 points, all of which came from beyond the arc.

“Every time they were rotating to the ball we just gave it to Tugg,” Adams said. “I was super impressed. None of his baskets even hit the rim, he was on fire.”

During the first eight minutes it seemed as though Sandpoint may have had an opportunity to get an upset victory. The score was tied at 16. But Coeur d’Alene shut down all hope by going on a 22-2 run to end the second.

“We started putting on a lot of back-court pressure,” Adams said. “That changed the tempo a little bit and it made them rush shots a little bit.”

The Vikings also made the switch to a three quarter court press defense in the second which played a factor to the run.

According to Childs, this has been a common theme for the Bulldogs throughout the year saying “Once we start bleeding it’s hard for us to stop the bleeding.

Adams was aware of how the Bulldogs score points, which is second chance baskets. So he had his defense preparing for that all week.

“We had guys going out getting the rebound and sticking to their lanes,” Adams said. “The kids were also just able to show great court vision.”

Jacob Eldridge paced Sandpoint with 14 points and Ethan Butler added 13.

For the Vikings, Steve Burgess reflected Wellsandt’s point total with 18 and Gunner Larson added 16.

Coeur d’Alene next plays Moscow at home Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

Sandpoint next plays at Post Falls Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

Coeur d’Alene 16 26 9 25 - 75

Sandpoint 16 5 12 14 - 50

COEUR D’ALENE — DeGraw 1, Entzi 1, King 0, Larson 9, Wellsandt 18, Nipp 4, Burgess 18, Orchard 8, Larson 16

SANDPOINT — Johnson 0, Lee 6, Eldridge 14, VanDenBerg 2, Dunkel 0, Childs 9, Lane 6, Butler 13.