LEWISTON — Sandpoint boys basketball hung with 5A Lewiston in the first half, but the Bengals used a 18-7 third quarter to pull away and secure a 58-46 win over the Bulldogs on Friday night in the Inland Empire League opener for both teams.

Head coach Wade Engelson said the difference in the game was his team's inability to convert layups and knock down shots from the outside. The Bengals hit six 3-pointers in the game while the Bulldogs' sole basket from beyond the arc came from Rusty Lee as time expired.

"I was really pleased with our guys effort," he said. "We played better this game than we did [Thursday], so we're getting better."

Engelson said the final score wasn't indicative of how close the game was.

"If you were just watching play and weren't looking at the scoreboard, you'd say the game was tied," he said.

Last year, the Bulldogs took down Lewiston 61-48 at Les Rogers Court when the Bengals were the No. 5 ranked team in the state.

Sandpoint went toe-to-toe with Lewiston once again on Friday.

"We hit some shots, it's a whole different game," Engelson said. "It's not like they dominated us or anything, it was back and forth ... I'm happy with the progress we're making."

Colin Roos led the way for the Bulldogs scoring 14 points. Engelson said Roos played excellent defense, attacked the rim and grabbed 15 or 16 rebounds.

Lee finished with 11 points. Jacob Eldridge added 8.

Sandpoint (1-1, 0-1 IEL) hosts Kellogg at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Sandpoint 6 15 7 18 — 46

Lewiston 11 16 18 13 — 58

SANDPOINT — Roos 14, Frank 0, R. Lee 11, Eldridge 8, VanDenBerg 1, Bailey 4, S. Lee 0, Larson 4, Lane 2, Butler 2.

LEWISTON — Eke 9, McKarcher 12, Way 2, Mullikin 7, Hottinger 5, B. Forsmann 10, White 4, Goeckner 1, G. Forsmann 8.