Sandpoint’s boys basketball team hit its stride at the right time while becoming road warriors in its final four games of the regular season.

Sandpoint defeated Lakeland 75-73 in double overtime on Monday to advance to the 4A District I-II championship game against Moscow at 7 p.m. today at Moscow High School.

“I don’t know if anyone else besides us believed we were going to win that game,” Sandpoint boys basketball coach Brian Childs said. “I just had a feeling in my gut that we were going to win.”

On Feb. 11, Sandpoint fell to Lake City 76-23, and according to Childs, that game served as a wakeup call for the Bulldogs.

“You have to stop and take a look around at who you have,” Childs said. “You never know how the kids are going to respond after a loss like that.”

Sandpoint’s schedule following its 53-point beat down from Lake City didn’t get any easier with road dates with Lewiston and St. Maries.

The Lumberjacks are currently ranked number three in the 2A classification and the Bengals have received votes in the 5A.

On Feb. 15, Sandpoint fell to Lewiston 80-54, but Childs felt the Bulldogs were beginning to turn the corner.

“Lewiston is a really good basketball team and has a chance to hold up a trophy once they go down to state,” Childs said. “But it was a six-point game up until the fourth quarter. The kids were starting to show some maturity.”

The biggest backbreaker for Sandpoint has been allowing teams to go on long runs, which happened against Lewiston, Lake City, Lakeland, and St. Maries. But as the games progressed the Bulldogs started to break that mold.

This was the biggest sign of improvement from the Bulldogs in its play-in game with Lakeland.

The Hawks opened up the third quarter on an 11-0 run.

This would usually be the end for the Bulldogs, but they showed some life and managed to close the gap before the fourth quarter.

“We weren’t talking much about the offense; we talked more about the defense,” Childs said. “When we play better defensively, we score a bit better. When you’re not defending well, it impacts that part of your game.”

Sandpoint, which traditionally plays zone defense, played man-to-man on Monday against Lakeland to try and slow down its shooters.

The Hawks still managed to go 11-for-24 from 3, but it was an adjustment that Childs felt he had to make.

“We drill it in practice from time to time,” Childs said. “I just knew how well they shoot the ball and it felt like a necessary adjustment for me to make at the time.”

As for what Sandpoint is going to run against Moscow, Childs said he’s taking it day-to-day.

Another big reason for the runs have been turnovers.

Turnovers have hurt the Bulldogs all season, but against Lakeland, it only turned the ball over seven times in 40 minutes..

“Lakeland only scored three points in transition,” Childs said. “That number has been pretty high in other games and that becomes demoralizing when you’re having a hard time stopping people.”

Although this Sandpoint team hasn’t been the best on paper, finishing the regular season 6-16 overall and 1-7 in Inland Empire league play, they’ve ended several major droughts in 2022..

The first streak put to rest by the Bulldogs was a 13 year losing streak to Post Falls High School.

In that same game, they ended a four year losing streak in Inland Empire League play.

The Bulldogs also ended its 17-game skid to Lakeland.

With the win over the Hawks, it sent the Bulldogs to their first 4A District I-II championship game since the 2015-16 season.

“One of our big points of emphasis has been to play free and have fun,” Childs said. “I feel like now we’re finally coming around to playing that way and making it easier on ourselves.”

In Sandpoint’s two regular season matchups with Moscow, the Bears have outscored the Bulldogs 142-100.

“We have to find a way to score because Moscow is going to score,” Childs said. “We have to keep them out of transition and that starts with us protecting the ball and not turning it over.”