The Sandpoint boys basketball team’s season featured a series of highs and lows.

The highs significantly outweighed the lows, however.

Such highs included snapping losing streaks and making it to the 4A district I-II championship game for the first time in seven years despite its 6-18 record.

The Bulldogs’ offense averaged 55 points per game, which was good enough to be ranked in the top 10 in the 4A classification.

Sandpoint’s offensive production was consistent with a different person stepping up each night.

Ethan Butler, Parker Childs, Jacob Eldridge, or Rusty Lee could’ve led Sandpoint in points on any given night.

“We really had to do everything by committee this year,” Sandpoint boys basketball coach Brian Childs said. “We didn’t have one guy on the team where I could just go into the score book and write down 20 points. That’s not always a bad thing; it’s just a matter of who can take the ball up the floor.”

Luckily, for the Bulldogs, in 2023, it’ll be returning Lee and Childs but will have a big hole to fill with Butler and Eldridge graduating.

“Those two really laid down the foundation for the culture we’re trying to build here,” Childs said. “They worked hard to establish a certain work ethic and hopefully two or three years down the road they can reap the fruits of their labor.”

Sandpoint’s defense would often be the catalyst behind the losses. It allowed 65 points per game, the second most behind Skyline in the 4A.

In its final 10 losses, the Bulldogs held their opponents to under 70 points twice, both of which came against St. Maries.

“We had to find ways to play defense without fouling,” Childs said. “We just didn’t have the depth on the bench to compete.”

Sandpoint finished its season on a high note during its 84-65 loss to Moscow on Feb. 25, in Game 2 of the 4A District I-II championship game.

It played one of its best games offensively. The Bulldogs just couldn’t slow down the Bears’ offense, which averaged 63 points per game, the second most in the classification behind Hillcrest.

What was once a six-point game turned into a double-digit hole after a 9-0 Moscow run.

Allowing teams to go on runs was Sandpoint’s Achilles heel in 2022.

“We didn’t have the luxury of having two or three guys that could rotate in at any time,” Childs said. “The zone I thought worked for about two thirds of the season, but then teams start scouting you and the effectiveness goes down a bit.”

Sandpoint peaked at the right time following its 58-56 victory against Post Falls on Feb. 9, which snapped a 13 year losing streak to the Trojans.

It lost the next three games to Lake City, Lewiston, and St. Maries, but the morale of the team was improving with each game.

The crescendo of its season came when Sandpoint defeated Lakeland 75-73 in double overtime on Feb. 21.

That win, along with its victory against Post Falls, will give the Bulldogs some momentum and some hope for their 2023 campaign.

Sandpoint will also have Lee, Aerie VanDenBerg, Evan Dickinson, Childs, and Lane back, so it’ll have a core nucleus for next season.