Bantams bounce back from Golden Throne, beat Bears in tight contest

MOSCOW — Clarkston center Josh Hoffman, listed at 6-feet-3 inches tall, watched his teammate’s third quarter 3-point shot rattle out. He wrapped his hands around the falling ball and sent the second-chance layup up and off the glass to extend the Bantams’ lead.

Hoffman’s heads-up play came as no surprise to Clarkston coach Justin Jones, who said that the senior center sets the example for his teammates.

“Josh Hoffman is the heart and soul of what we do,” Jones said. “He’s the example of how to compete every day in practice and every game. So that leadership is now starting to wear off on some of our younger kids.”

Sophomore guard Niko Ah Hi paced the Bantams with 20 points and Hoffman, Kendry Gimlin and Jason Rinard each posted nine points to propel the Bantams to a 53-49 win over the Bears on Tuesday in Moscow.

How it unfolded

Clarkston junior Jason Rinard got things started for a Bantam team that won the tipoff and made a first-possession 3-pointer.

Clarkston (3-4) forged a 10-0 lead within the game’s first three minutes before Moscow (3-2), inside the friendly confines of Bear Den, began to not only fight back but claw its way to a 10-point lead.

Traiden Cummings led the charge for Moscow with an 18-point night.

Clarkston trailed by as many as 10 in the second quarter but began to grab rebounds consistently and came up with the defensive stops needed to gain the second-half lead.

Moscow had led Clarkston 31-22 at the half.

The Bantams carried their energy into the second half as Ah Hi worked his way to the free-throw line several times to go 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.

He also sank three 3-pointers.

“We just started competing on the defensive end,” Ah Hi said. “I thought we really started competing. They just (didn’t get) open shots, and then we started moving the ball around on offense and they just couldn’t stop us.”

Bears get their paws on the ball

Moscow made its money with several stellar steals.

On a Clarkston inbound in the first quarter, Cummings leapt in front of a Clarkston player receiving the inbound, batted the ball away from the Bantams, won the footrace to the ball and finished at the rim to give the Bears their first lead of 12-10.

Moscow’s Bear Den greeted Cummings’ fast-break bucket with a roar of approval. The Bears continued to be a bother for the Bantams, going on a 24-4 run to end the first and begin the second quarter.

After trailing 10-0, Moscow’s 24-4 run began with a 16-0 run to end the first.

Moscow’s Max Winfree blocked a Bantam shot in the first half as the Bears, fresh off a Clash of the Combine loss to Pullman on Friday, flashed their physicality versus another area Greater Spokane League opponent.

Moscow sank seven 3-pointers with three from Grant Abendroth.

“Moscow historically under Josh (Uhrig) is very tough, plays extremely fast, and is athletic,” Jones said. “He gets his kids to play at such a high level.”

Bantams a young team

Jones said he was proud of how the Bantams, a team with three underclassman starters, responded following their 76-35 loss to Lewiston in Friday’s annual Golden Throne game.

The loss was the largest in the Golden Throne series history.

“I really challenged our kids to take ownership of what happened there,” Jones said. “Now, Lewiston is an amazing team, very dynamic, but we had to take some ownership there. We have a very young team, and I feel like the last two days, our guys responded, and I’m just so proud of them.”

Three of Jones’ starting five are underclassmen, including two freshmen: Gimlin and Braxton Formann.

Gimlin posted nine points — with three 3-pointers — and Formann, making the first start of his high school career, scored six points with a trey and three free throws.

Jones said that Gimlin’s unique size and ability as a 6-foot-4 freshman leads to big-time shots and that Formann is on the floor because he “is arguably the best shooter in (the) program.”

“Two freshmen that we elevated and decided, you know, they’re a future of this program,” Jones said. “These freshmen have taken a big jump from playing eighth-grade junior high basketball to varsity basketball for Clarkston.”

The third of Gimlin’s ice-cold 3s came in the contest’s closing minutes as the Bantams led by less than 10 points late. Bear Den was quiet as Gillman’s shot glided through the nylon.

Clarkston survived two 3-pointers from Moscow’s Abendroth in the closing minutes to hang on and win 53-49.

“Coach Jones made some great halftime adjustments and we struggled to adjust,” Moscow coach Josh Uhrig said. “I was really pleased with how Traiden played for us. ... Grant hit some big shots to give us a chance late.”

Up next

Moscow hosts another GSL team, Rogers, on Friday.

Clarkston plays in the Avista Holiday Tournament on Jan. 2, 2025.

CLARKSTON (3-4)

Isaiah Woods 0 0-0 0, Lee Brown 0 0-0 0, Braxton Forsmann 1 3-4 6, Niko Ah Hi 8 4-5 20, Otis Phillips 0 0-0 0, Josh Hoffman 4 1-5 9, Chase Brown 0 0-0 0, Kendry Gimlin 3 0-0 9, Jason Rinard 3 0-0 9. Totals 18 8-14 53.

MOSCOW (3-2)

Tyson Izzo 2 0-0 5, Abram Godfrey 0 0-0 0, JP Breese 1 0-0 3 Traiden Cummings 6 4-5 18, Maurice Bethel 0 0-0 0, Connor Isakson 1 1-2 3, Grant Abendroth 5 1-1 14, Dan Fitt 0 0-0 0, Max Winfree 2 0-2 4, Emeth Toebben 0 0-0 0, Owen Tiegs 0 0-0 0, Jonas Mudhurst 1 0-2 2, Andrew Hurley 0 0-2 0. Totals ­18 6-12 49.­

Clarkston 10 12 17 14 — 53

Moscow 16 15 4 14 — 49

3-point goals — Ah Hi 3, Gimlin 3, Rinard 3, Abendroth 3, Cummings 2, Izzo, Breese.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.