Kellogg, Bonners Set To Clash

The preliminaries are over.

It’s time for the real basketball game.

No. 1-ranked Kellogg and third-ranked Bonners Ferry breezed to victories Wednesday in the A-2 District I-II tournament, setting up the much-anticipated championship showdown Friday between the Intermountain League co-champions.

Kellogg ran away from Priest River 81-65 while Bonners Ferry used a 21-0 run in the third quarter to hammer Moscow 79-42.

Kellogg (18-3) and Bonners Ferry (17-4) will meet at 8 p.m. Friday. The winner advances to the A-2 state tournament at Pocatello next week.

Priest River (9-12) and Moscow (10-12) meet in a loser-out game at 6:15.

Bonners Ferry 79, Moscow 42

Jim Hudson’s putback of his own miss 30 seconds into the third quarter pulled Moscow into a 35-35 tie.

Moscow didn’t score another basket for 9 minutes and 21 straight points by the Badgers turned what had been a back-and-forth game into a runaway.

A 3-pointer by Kris Gravelle put Bonners Ferry ahead 56-35 with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.

Moscow scored just three points in the quarter, nine total in the second half.

The Badgers’ Gavin Glindeman hit a 3-pointer from the baseline corner to cap a 28-1 run that extended Bonners Ferry’s lead to 63-36 at the 6:50 mark of the fourth quarter.

A short jumper by Moscow’s 6-foot-9 sophomore post Jason Keep with 5:54 left in the second half was the Bears’ first basket since the opening minutes of the third quarter.

And the Bears wouldn’t score another basket until 6 seconds left in the game.

Gravelle said intensity inspired the second-half turnaround. The Badgers forced seven turnovers in the third quarter and while making the Bears pay for their mistakes.

“Our coach had a big talk with us at halftime about our intensity, especially defensively,” Gravelle said. “The defense was the key and then we started spreading the ball around the floor and they weren’t able to key on one person.”

Gravelle and Glindeman combined for 14 points in the third quarter as they finished with 23 and 19, respectively.

Bonners Ferry coach Dick Hollenbeck wasn’t pleased to go into halftime with the score tied at 33-33.

“I’m never sure which team is going to show up and the A-2 right one showed up - at least in the second half,” Hollenbeck said. “We were lackadaisical (in the first half). When you play man defense you have to get in their face, you just can’t let them take shots with your hands down to your side.”

The defense fed the Badgers’ effective transition game, and Moscow found itself run over by the momentum.

Bear sophomore guard Adam Miller fueled Moscow in the first half with 14. But he and his teammates disappeared in the second half.

Gravelle said he is looking forward to playing Kellogg. The teams split regular-season games.

“I think the last 3 minutes will decide the game,” Gravelle said. “It’s going to be close all the way because we’ve got good players and they’ve got good players.”

Moscow 15 18 3 6 - 42 Bonners Ferry 19 14 25 21 - 79

MOSCOW Miller 14, Barnes 0, Walker 0, Johnson 0, Dudley 3, Lathan 2, Stinebaugh 2, Colbert 2, Keep 4, Pierce 4, Hudson 11.

BONNERS FERRY Walter 2, Gravelle 23, Glindeman 19, High 2, Holeski 11, Hubbard 0, LaRue 8, Meeker 0, Ashby 6, Stewart 2.

Kellogg 81, Priest River 65

Spartan coach Kelly Reed was impressed with Kellogg.

“What do you do,” he asked about defending the inside-outside threats that top-ranked Kellogg utilizes. “They have great shooters and they’re always in the right spots. Kellogg is a very, very good basketball team.”

The Wildcats, upset in the first double-elimination round of the district tournament last year by Priest River, weren’t about to overlook the Spartans, though Kellogg possessed a measurable talent advantage.

Kellogg used an 8-2 spurt to close the first quarter with a comfortable 20-8 lead.

It only got worse for the Spartans.

Led by Travis Fulton, Derek Jennings and Casey Fisher, the Wildcats extended their lead to 47-20 late in the second quarter.

Then Fulton reminded his teammates at halftime of last year’s debacle. Though the reminder wasn’t necessary, Kellogg increased its lead to as many as 31 (66-35) in the third quarter.

“We played good defense and shot the ball well and I couldn’t ask for more,” Kellogg coach David Roberts said. “I didn’t mention last year at all, but they remembered. We just had a solid effort.”

Fulton led with 22 points, Fisher had 19 and 10 rebounds and Jennings added 14.

Spartan senior standout Kyle York scored nearly half his team’s points with 32, 22 in the second half.

Reed said his game plan was to be very deliberate offensively. But the Wildcats never allowed the Spartans an opportunity to set the tempo.

Fulton scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the second quarter after a scoreless first period. A 3-pointer and two free throws by Fulton coupled with a basket in the key by Fisher gave the Wildcats their biggest lead in the first half at 47-22 with 28 seconds remaining before halftime.

Priest River 8 14 18 25 - 65 Kellogg 20 27 19 15 - 81

PRIEST RIVER Score 3, Bradbury 2, York 32, Rabe 8, Schaefer 6, Trost 5, Walters 0, Mohr 5, Eskelson 0, Warren 1, Clark 3.

KELLOGG Mi. Van Hoose 0, Little 3, Fulton 22, Behm 7, Jennings 14, Hansen 0, Kohal 1, Fisher 19, Nielsen 3, Bircher 7, Carlson 3, Mercado 2, Ma. Van Hoose 0.