Kellogg Tops Bf, Home Win Streak Reaches 16

The Kellogg Wildcats rallied from a four-point deficit in the last 2 minutes and 49 seconds to notch their 16th consecutive home victory and beat Bonners Ferry , 53-50, Friday night in an Intermountain League boys basketball game.

The win before 1,100 fans avenged a lopsided 74-50 loss to the Badgers, top-ranked among A-2 teams, at Bonners Ferry two weeks ago.

A 3-point field goal by Kellogg senior guard Jeremy Behm deadlocked the teams at 47 with 1:25 left.

The teams traded turnovers before the Wildcats senior guard Travis Fulton scored inside for a 49-47 advantage with 32 seconds remaining.

Bonners Ferry senior Gavin Glindeman put up an errant shot, which 5 -foot-9 guard Derek Jennings rebounded for Kellogg.

Jennings was fouled at 18 seconds, then came back after a Badgers timeout and sank both free throws to make it a four-point game.

“That’s pressure,” Kellogg coach David Roberts said of Jennings’ free throws. “When I ask the guys to shoot free throws and see how many they make in a row, I have to stop (Jennings) at 25 and get on with practice.”

Bonners Ferry senior Kris Gravelle answered Jennings’ free throws with a 25-foot bomb, closing the Badgers to within 51-50 at 11 seconds.

Chris Nielsen responded, going hard to the basket for a two-hand jam for the game’s final points.

The Badgers hit two more field goals than Kellogg, but the Wildcats went 19 of 25 at the free-throw line, including Nielsen’s 10-for-10 effort.

“I knew fouls were going to define the game,” Nielsen said. “That’s why we stayed away from fouling Glindeman and Gravelle.”

Kellogg’s six-point lead with 6:52 to go in the second quarter was the largest lead of the game. The Wildcats led 28-25 at halftime.

Glindeman picked up two quick personal fouls in the space of 30 seconds to start the third quarter, and was benched until the 4:10 mark of the fourth period.

But the Badgers finished the third period with an 8-0 burst, started at 2:09 by a three-point play from forward Benson LaRue, and capped by LaRue’s head-fake and drive to the basket at 14 seconds for a 38-36 lead.

Two free throws and a bucket from Gravelle gave the Badgers a 42-38 lead at 5:18 of the final period.

Nielsen sank two free throws for the Wildcats at 4:59, but Kellogg didn’t score again until 2:41, as Fulton took a defensive rebound the length of the floor for a layup to rally the Wildcats to within 44-42.

Nielsen finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Fulton added 11 points and five rebounds for Kellogg.

The Badgers got a game-high 22 points from Gravelle, plus 15 points and six rebounds from Glindeman in 22 minutes of playing time.

“We just came out and we took it to them,” Nielsen said. “They took it to us the first time we played them.”

“We’ve been talking about the fact that everybody is expendable, meaning everybody has to be willing to go out and play in somebody’s face and don’t worry about the foul,” Roberts said. “Since the Bonners loss, our practices have not been the same at all. We’ve picked up the defensive intensity.”

Bonners Ferry (4-1, 10-3 overall) is host to Wallace tonight. The Wildcats (5-1, 12-3) are idle until next Friday when Wallace visits.

Kellogg 53, Bonners Ferry 50

Bonners Ferry 11 13 13 12 - 50 Kellogg 16 12 8 17 - 53

BONNERS FERRY Walter 0, Stewart 5, LaRue 5, High 0, Holeski 3, Glindeman 15, Gravelle 22, Ashby 0.

KELLOGG Van Hoose 0, Fulton 11, Behm 8, Jennings 8, Kohal 1, Fisher 7, Nielsen 18, Bircher 0.