GIRLS BASKETBALL

Sandpoint 65, Lewiston 63

SANDPOINT — The definition of "locked in" Friday night was Brecken Mire.

The Sandpoint High sophomore scored a career-high 36 points, 24 in the second half, and dished out six assists as the No. 1 Lady Bulldogs came back from as much as 13 down to defeat the No. 4 Lady Bengals in a 5A Inland Empire League district tournament loser-out game at Les Rogers Court.

Down 7-1 to start the game and 25-12 with 5:40 remaining in the second quarter, things were looking tough for the Lady Bulldogs, but they settled down and closed the quarter on a 17-8 run to trail just 33-29 heading into halftime.

"There were some things we needed to clean up on the defensive end, but I did think we were starting to figure out offensively what we needed to do heading into halftime," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said. "Going into the third, we really needed to compete and win the first two minutes. I told them they just needed to relax, enjoy the moment, and play some basketball."

After halftime, Mire scored the first nine points of the third quarter to set the tone, but Lewiston kept the pressure on. Led by senior Addy McKarcher's double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, the Lady Bengals fell behind just once for a brief moment, 42-40, before extending their lead to six again late in the contest. It wasn't until there was 1:55 remaining in the game that Sandpoint would lead again.

Down 61-60, Mire, who was busy driving the lane all night, split a pair of defenders and converted 3-point play, one of her three 3-point plays on the night, and the crowd erupted — but she wasn't done yet.

Tied 63-63, Mire scored again off a turnaround mid-range right-handed floater to give the Lady Bulldogs the lead, a lead that stuck after Sandpoint made a defensive stand to close the game out.

"It's so fun to watch when a kid's in the zone like that," Love said of Mire. "It's a lot of fun and all of a sudden you become a spectator. Obviously, there's the numbers, but the poise and leadership Brecken had the entire time, as we dug our way back into the game, was crucial. All the baskets she had were critical for us down the stretch."

Sophomore Jordyn Tomco added nine points and two steals, sophomore Livia Driggs eight points and senior Demi Driggs seven points while senior Chloe Laybourne crashed the glass for a team-high six rebounds in the win.

Overall, the Lady Bulldogs were 20-of-26 from the charity stripe, Mire being 11-of-13 on her own.

"It's been an issue for us, especially in the beginning of the season," coach Love said about his team's efforts from the free throw line. "If we're not shooting that percentage (77%) tonight, then were not advancing to next week. Credit to all the kids for the work they put in on the line."

No. 1 Sandpoint (12-10), which has now won five straight, will look to keep things rolling when they host No. 2 Lakeland, which beat No. 3 Moscow 45-30 last night, for a best-of-three district tournament series which starts Tuesday.

Lewiston 16 17 19 11 — 63

Sandpoint 10 19 19 17 — 65

PTS: SPT — Mire 36, Tomco 9, L. Driggs 8, D. Driggs 7, Ca. Laybourne 3, Thaete 2. LEW — A. McKarcher 25, E. McKarcher 11, Albright 10, Balmer 7, Holman 5, Vantrease 4, Lathen 1.

REB: SPT — Ch. Laybourne 6, D. Driggs 4, Mire 2, Tomco 2, Ca. Laybourne 2, L. Driggs 1, M. Driggs 1, Thaete 1. LEW — A. McKarcher 11, Albright 4, Lathen 4, Vantrease 3, Balmer 2, E. McKarcher 1.

AST: SPT — Mire 6, Ch. Laybourne 1, Tomco 1, L. Driggs 1. LEW — Albright 5, Vantrease 3, Lathen 3, Stanger 1, A. McKarcher 1.

STL: SPT — Tomco 2, Ch. Laybourne 2, Mire 1. LEW — A. McKarcher 2, Lathen 1, Holman 1, Vantrease 1.

BLK: SPT — Tomco 1, D. Driggs 1, Mire 1. LEW — A. McKarcher 3.

Kootenai Thunder 36, Classical Christian 31

SPOKANE VALLEY — Senior Laura Allshouse produced a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Lady Thunder held off the Classical Christian Academy for a hard-fought 5-point Mountain Christian league tournament consolation win on Friday at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy.

Lexi Ball had seven points and five steals, Kasen Reynolds had seven points of her own, and Mazie Miles registered seven rebounds and a team-high three assists in the win.

The No. 6 Kootenai Thunder (4-14) will face off against No. 4 Pullman Christian in the Mountain Christian League tournament fifth-place game today at 9:45 a.m. at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy in Spokane Valley.

Thunder Stats Only.

PTS: KT — Allshouse 14, Ball 7, Reynolds 7, Stevens 3, Dye 2, Miles 2, deGraaf 1.

REB: KT — Allshouse 13, Miles 7, deGraaf 5, Ball 5, Stevens 3, Reynolds 3, Palmer 1.

AST: KT — Miles 3, Allshouse 1, Reynolds 1.

STL: KT — Ball 5, Miles 3, Reynolds 2, Allshouse 2, Dye 1, deGraaf 1.

BLK: KT — Ball 1, Miles 1.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Christian Center 52, Kootenai Thunder 47

SPOKANE VALLEY — Senior Dylan Day paced the Thunder with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds in a nail-biting second round Mountain Christian League tournament loss to the Lions on Friday at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy. 

Malachi Duchow added 12 points, Marshall Peters had nine points, and Melkam Manning dished out a team-high four assists for the Thunder.

The No. 3 Kootenai Thunder (13-7) will face No. 4 Pullman Christian in the Mountain Christian League tournament third-place game today at 3 p.m. at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy in Spokane Valley.

Thunder Stats Only.

PTS: KT — Day 18, Duchow 12, Peters 9, Peterson 6, Hernandez-Ortega 2.

REB: KT — Day 13, Peterson 8, Miles 4, Duchow 3, Palmer 2, Manning 2, Hernandez-Ortega 1, Peters 1.

AST: KT — Manning 4, Miles 2, Duchow 2, Hernandez-Ortega 1, Day 1.

STL: KT — Miles 2, Duchow 2, Peters 1, Day 1.

BLK: KT — Peterson 2.

Lakeside 75, Clark Fork 45

CLARK FORK — While the score may look lopsided, Clark Fork High head coach Stillman Berkley said it was the best his Wampus Cats have played all year.

Junior Owen Howard produced 12 points and 18 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, sophomore Mateo Cruz and junior Westin Caven added 10 points apiece for Clark Fork, which trailed just 26-22 at halftime, before falling in Friday night's 2A Scenic Idaho Conference matchup against the Knights.

"It was a great first half, we were doing really well," Berkley said. "The guys were fired up, controlling the ball well and were taking smart shots and playing great defense. It's the best we've played against Lakeside this season."

Lakeside High junior Tyson Charley paced all scorers with 29 points, 22 of which came in the second half, and hit three 3-pointers.

Sophomore Buddy Adams contributed a season-high six points for the Wampus Cats.

Clark Fork (4-11, 0-4) will return to action Friday when they travel to Wallace for their regular season and league finale.

Lakeside 13 13 27 22 — 75

Clark Fork 11 11 11 12 — 45

PTS: CF — Howard 12, Caven 10, Cruz 10, Adams 6, Montgomery 4, Yanik 3. LAK — Charley 29, Peone 14, Louie 11, Spottedhorse 10, Pluff 6, Mitchell 5.

REB: CF — Howard 18, Montgomery 5, Caven 4, Cruz 2, Adams 2. LAK — N/A.

AST: CF — Caven 3, Adams 3, Montgomery 3, Cruz 1, Howard 1, Stevens 1. LAK — N/A.

STL: CF — Adams 3, Howard 3, Caven 2, Montgomery 2, Stevens 1, Cruz 1. LAK — N/A.

BLK: CF — Howard 4, Cruz 1. LAK — N/A.