breakfast bracket games
For the teams who fell Thursday, the next day of competition becomes a fight for their tournament lives. Elimination Friday will mean the difference between returning home with a piece of hardware or going home empty-handed.
In the opening elimination game in the State 2B boys basketball tournament La Conner and Adna will try to avoid going 0-2 in tournament play and advance to Saturday's fourth-place game. both the Braves (21-5) and Pirates (22-4) are coming off agonizing losses to Northwest Christian and Colfax respectively. The Braves lost 59-57, while Adna was edged 45-44.
The State 1B girls' game will be a chance at redemption for both Neah Bay and Mary M. Knight. The Red Devils (23-2) were blown out by Colton in their first game, while Mary M. Knight (11-13) was held to 11 points in their loss against Sunnyside Christian.
LA CONNER VS. ADNA
Landy James buries a 3-point shot to open the game for the Braves. It took almost two minutes for the Braves to score Thursday against Northwest Christian.
La Conner 9, Adna 4 through one quarter
Scoring has been at a premium for these teams trying to shake of the sleep and grogginess of an early morning. Spencer Novak's 3-pointer with 2:00 left in the frame was the last scoring by either team, giving the Braves a five-point lead.
The Braves have lived exclusively at the 3-point line, hitting three thus far for nine of their 12 points. A 5-0 La Conner run gives the Braves a six-point lead, but that quick five points has been followed by a three-minute scoring drought by both teams. The drought finally ends at the 1:30 mark on a layup by James.
La Conner 19, Adna 14 halftime
Little changed from the end of the first quarter to halftime. Each team scored 10 points, and both teams endured another painful scoring drought that ate up nearly three minutes of game clock. Novak and James lead the scoring for the Braves at this point, while Nate Trotter has been a force inside similar to his effort yesterday against Colfax, scoring eight points.
the Braves have scored the six points of the third quarter, using 3:31 of the clock to do so. Adna seems unable to shake the cobwebs this morning, and Trotter has been little utilized against a smaller La Conner front line.
La Conner 25, Adna 21 through three quarters
The Pirates certainly needed a shot in the arm in the second half, and Andrew Lawler may have provided it. With 1:09 left, Lawler hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four and push the current Adna run to 7-0.
Two free throws by Coulsen Kohler knot the game at 29-29, the first tie in the game since the opening quarter. Sten Mejlaender misses the front end of a one-and-one on the other end to keep the tie intact. Kohler then buries a 3-pointer to give Adna its first lead of the game 32-29.
La Conner responds with an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead, and the guys in stripes seem reluctant to call contact, letting the players decide this one. A three-point play from Trotter cuts the lead to two with two minutes left.
Two free throws by Novak with 18 seconds left may have sealed the deal for the Braves. They now lead by five and have the ball with 7.1 ticks remaining.
La Conner 40, Adna 35 final
MARY M. KNIGHT VS. NEAH BAY
The Red Devils jump out to a quick 5-0 lead against the Owls, getting a 3-pointer from Rebecca Thompson. Thompson has been on fire in the first quarter, scoring 10 of the Red Devils' 18 points thus far.
Neah Bay 23, Mary M. Knight 6 through one quarter
Thompson has 12 points now and the Devils have held the Owls to just one field goal through the first eight minutes. Linda Cook does have four points to lead the way for the Owls.
Neah Bay 38, Mary M. Knight 15 halftime
Both teams have had a better showing than their opening day losess, especially Nea Bay, which has gotten 20 points from Thompson to lead by 23 at the break. The Owls' 15 first-half points outdid their entire game production in their first-round loss. Cook leads the way for MMK with eight points.
Neah Bay 43, Mary M. Knight 20 through three quarters
Neither team comes flying out of the gates at the half, scoring a combined 10 points. Neah Bay seems to be playing the bulk of its bench in the second half, not letting the score get out of control.
Neah Bay 54, Mary M. Knight 29 final
The next batch of morning games will pit Waitsburg-Prescott against Lake Roosevelt in the 2B boys' bracket and Lopez against Selkirk in the 1B girls. Lake Roosevelt will try and build off a much better second half in their loss against Napavine. After scoring seven in the first half, the Raiders went for 35 in the second. Selkirk, meanwhile, played decently against Almira/Coulee-Hartline and will play Lopez, the new record holder for fewest points in a State 1B tournament game.
LAKE ROOSEVELT VS. WAITSBURG-PRESCOTT
Lake Roosevelt 14, Waitsburg-Prescott 9 through one quarter
Ty Egbert has eight of the Raiders' 14 points, including a thunderous two-handed jam that gave them a one-point lead at 8-7. The Raiders outscored WP 6-2 the rest of the quarter to take a five-point lead.
The Raiders scored the first six points of the second quarter, but have since had their nine-point lead trimmed to six with 2:39 left in the opening half.
Lake Roosevelt 28, Waitsburg-Prescott 21 halftime
Tommy Lee-Turner gives the Raiders a seven-point advantage at intermission after drilling a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Egbert has been the biggest guy on floor both in terms of size and in terms of getting big buckets. His eight points lead all scorers and his six rebounds and four blocked shots are also game-highs. Waitsburg-Prescott has not gone anywhere, though, sticking close throughout the entire half. Zach Bartlow has five points to led the Cardinals in scoring.
LR halftime leaders
Ty Egbert 8 points 6 rebonds 4 blocks
Jesse Adkins 6 points
WP halftime leaders
Zach Bartlow 5 points 5 rebounds
Brandon Kohler scored five of the Raiders first seven points in the second half, breaking a 3:45 scoring drought to start the third quarter.
Lake Roosevelt 41, Waitsburg-Prescott 38 through three quarters
Kohler is feeling it in a big way for the Raiders, nailing a 3-point jumper with a hand in his face at the buzzer to give them a three-point lead to start the fourth quarter. The Cardinals had tied the game only seconds before on a triple by Bartlow. To the Cardinals' credit, Egbert was a nonfactor in the paint, being held scoreless for the second straight quarter.
Egbert finally on the board in the second half, hitting one of two free throws to give LR a two-point lead.
Keith Rosenbaum scores six straight on back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Raiders an eight-point cushion. Both came via assists from Kohler, who is playing his best basketball of the tournament in this second half.
Rosenbaum hits two free throws with 2:30 left to en a 4-0 run by the Cardinals. The LR lead is back to eight at 52-44.
Kohler leaves with an apparent sprained ankle, but the Raiders maintain their 8-9 point advantage with good defense and good enough shooting from the free throw line.
Lake Roosevelt 57, Waitsburg-Prescott 49 final
SELKIRK VS. LOPEZ
Selkirk 17, Lopez 3 through one quarter
The Rangers opened the game on a 17-0 run, getting seven points from Jaimi Adams and six from Courney Holter.
Lopez has scored 9 of the next 11 in the game, though, to cut the Selkirk lead to 10 at 19-9.
Selkirk 30, Lopez 15 halftime
Holter's nine points leads the way for the Rangers, who bounced back from a 9-2 run by the Lobos to take a 15-point lead into the break. The Lobos will not have to worry about setting any more records this weekend, having already scored six more points than yesterday's nine-point effort.
Selkirk halftime leaders
Jaimi Adams 9 points 7 rebounds
Courtney Holter 9 points
Lopez halftime leaders
Sarah Stanley 9 points 5 rebounds
Selkirk 45, Lopez 24 through three quarters
Holter scored five of the Rangers' first seven points in the second half, giving her 14 for the game.
Selkirk 58, Lopez 32 final