SANDPOINT — Saturday’s game didn’t start the way the Sandpoint boys basketball team had imagined. It was looking like Moscow was going to walk into Les Rogers Court and runaway with an win over the Bulldogs as the Bears took a 19-10 lead after the first quarter.

Moscow was inserting its will and the Bulldogs had no answer.

But the Bulldogs have faced adversity countless times this season and never blinked so they didn’t panic. Instead, Sandpoint ramped up the intensity defensively in the second quarter and forced Moscow to commit a handful of turnovers that allowed the Bulldogs to climb back in it.

Senior Ryan Roos hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to cap a dominant second quarter that saw the Bulldogs pull the score to 28-26 heading into the locker room.

The second half was a defensive struggle as both teams found it difficult to get any clean looks at the basket.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Sandpoint trailed 37-31. The Bulldogs then went on a 9-2 run to take a 40-39 advantage.

After Moscow made a pair of free throws with just over a minute left to take a 41-40 lead, Sandpoint had several opportunities to tie or retake the lead but they missed three free throws down the stretch that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game as they fell 43-40.

Senior Kobe Banks missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Bulldogs finished the night 2-9 from the free-throw line.

“The previous game against West Valley we shot over 70 percent from the free-throw line,” head coach Wade Engelson said while explaining Saturday’s struggles from the charity stripe, “and we won but I’m proud of my guys ... sometimes they just don’t go in.”

The win wraps up a 4-0 regular season in league play for the Bears and earns them home-court advantage in the district championship series that starts Wednesday, Feb, 26.

Sandpoint remains winless in IEL play this year but they fought until the bitter end against a tough Moscow team.

“Moscow’s an excellent team, they’re well coached,” Engelson said. “Our guys left it all on the basketball court. I wish the outcome was different but this is a bunch of guys that really got after it.”

Roos was all over the court Saturday and he did everything he could to help the Bulldogs win, finishing with a game-high 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Banks, who played the entire game, finished with 7 points and five assists and senior Will Treadaway added 8 points.

Engelson said the players were disappointed they lost but he reminded them that their season isn’t over yet. And he’s right. The Bulldogs have three regular season games left this week including a pivotal matchup at Lakeland on Thursday that will determine who is the No. 2 seed at the district tournament.

If Sandpoint beats the Hawks and secures the scoring margin tiebreaker they would host the play-in game for the regional championship series on Monday, Feb. 24.

“If we play like this in districts, who knows what could happen,” Engelson said.

Sandpoint (8-10, 0-3 IEL) heads to Coeur d’Alene at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Moscow 19 9 9 6 — 43

Sandpoint 10 16 5 9 — 40

MOSCOW - Diego 1, Decker 7, Abendroth 6, Thompson 0, Simpson 1, Colter 2, Postell 3, Buchanan 10, Kitchel 12, Skinner 1.

SANDPOINT - R. Roos 13, Banks 7, Niemela 2, Eldridge 2, VanDenBerg 0, C. Roos 2, Treadaway 8, Casey 6.