Talent-laden Skyview waltzes past Sandpoint
CALDWELL, Idaho – If the No. 1-ranked Skyview boys basketball team has a weakness, Sandpoint couldn’t find it.
The Hawks of nearby Nampa found their cruising altitude during a 5-minute stretch in the second quarter and Sandpoint couldn’t bring them back to earth as Skyview ran away, 70-53, in a State 4A tournament opener Thursday at Albertson College.
Sandpoint (14-9), making its first trip to state in 27 years, takes on Bonneville (18-8) in a loser-out game this afternoon at 2 PST.
In the other openers that were more tightly fought, Century tripped Post Falls 63-62 in overtime in a controversial ending; Burley slipped past Bonneville 47-46; and Bishop Kelly held off Blackfoot 63-60.
Sandpoint senior post Ben Mitchell stepped out and hit a 3-pointer that gave the Bulldogs a 19-16 lead with 6:25 remaining in the second quarter. But Skyview promptly went on a 17-2 run that was fueled largely by transition baskets out of its trapping half-court defense.
The Bulldogs didn’t score again until Anthony Sorentino hit a 12-foot jumper at the 1:08 mark. But by then the damage had been done as the Bulldogs went into halftime trailing 33-23. Sandpoint didn’t bounce back.
Sandpoint hadn’t played for 13 days. But the Bulldogs showed no signs of rust, taking a 12-7 lead when Michael Brewer scored on a layup with 2:30 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs led 14-13 at quarter’s end.
Things were going well in the early moments of the second period before Skyview asserted control.
“The time off didn’t bother us because we had a very good first quarter. It was Skyview that affected us,” Sandpoint coach Tyler Haynes said. “We’ve handled presses all year long. That press wasn’t a whole lot different. But they were extending so much in it because we weren’t hurting them – we weren’t scoring when we had opportunities. So they were able to stay on the attack and stay aggressive in it.”
Sandpoint cut Skyview’s lead to 37-29 when Blake Mahler hit an acrobatic shot in a crowd near the basket. The Bulldogs had back-to-back possessions to dig into the lead further moments later, but they couldn’t take advantage. Skyview pushed the lead to 41-30 when Louie Beech made a layup at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs never got any closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter. Skyview (21-3) led by as many as 19 three times in the final period.
“We had 16 turnovers, which is rare for us,” Haynes said. “They’re a very good team and we never forced them to adjust. We’ve always been able to take somebody’s 1-2 punch and force them to go to Plan B. We never forced the issue and never made them adjust.”
Skyview coach Dan McGee thought his team was much more focused after the Hawks saw their 19-game winning streak snapped in a 57-54 loss to Bishop Kelly last week in the District III title game.
“We responded really well,” McGee said. “We had three awesome days of practice. We got out and ran and took care of the ball better. And we played good defense. Now we’re going the right way in the bracket.”
Sandpoint shot 31 percent from the field, 11 percent off its season average.
“Those are the same looks we’ve had all season,” Haynes said.
When Sandpoint drove inside, Skyview 6-foot-8 post Tom Taylor was there to knock away shots. He had seven blocks.
Mitchell, who averaged a double-double in points and rebounding in the regular season, was strapped with foul trouble, eventually fouling out with 5:46 remaining. He scored seven points, all of which came in the first half.
“It’s frustrating, really frustrating,” Mitchell said. “I think about all the hours and days and money that I’ve spent to get here, to this game, and I don’t even think I played a half worth of minutes (15:23). We started out great. I just wish we could have kept it rolling. We got the looks we wanted, but they did a good job in their press and got us out of our rhythm.”
Brewer scored a career-high 24 points. “There’s some tournament left. I intend to go for that fourth-place trophy.”