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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cheney’s Quick Start Buries Wv

Frontier League boys

“Rebound” was the final word coach Joe Feist had for his West Valley starters before Saturday night’s game at Cheney.

That piece of advice hadn’t sunk in after one lackluster quarter, so Feist switched to, “Attack the basket; turn and face.”

When Cheney strung together its second 11-0 scoring run of the first half, however, there wasn’t much left for Feist to suggest.

Cheney (9-4, 4-1), the clear aggressor, handled the Eagles 71-44 in a Frontier League game matching two of the four teams tied for first place as the night began. WV trailed by 20 points at halftime and never came closer.

Cheney coach Denny Humphrey said the seeds for the blowout were planted one night earlier.

“The confidence booster for us was to go to Pullman (Friday) and get a win,” Humphrey said. “The kids played with the same defensive intensity today. We just tried to convince them that they had to build off that win.”

Statistics backed up the score’s lopsidedness: Cheney 22-3 in offensive rebounds; Cheney 63-46 in shots from the field; and WV (8-4, 3-2) 21-10 in turnovers.

Junior forward Paul Malisani scored six of his game-high 18 during Cheney’s second 11-0 run. Malisani, who finished 7 of 12 from the floor, added 13 rebounds.

Vinnie Pecht, WV’s leading scorer (13 ppg) in league games, went scoreless until the final seconds of the third quarter and finished with six points. Eagles guard Josh Sweet, bothered by a leg injury, scored 13 but missed 10 of 14 field goals.

Humphrey had the luxury of frequently using his non-starters, who responded with 22 points.

“That helps team morale, there’s no doubt about it,” Humphrey said.

Feist also used his bench, but as a teaching device.

Cheney made all 10 of its free throws in the second half.

Humphrey said the league has tremendous parity and one night’s result won’t mean anything come district time.

Cheney 71, West Valley 44

West Valley 6 9 14 15 - 44

Cheney 16 19 19 17 - 71

WEST VALLEY McLachlan 0 0-0 0, Cardwell 3 4-5 11, Sweet 5 0-0 13, Deno 0 0-0 0, Groh 1 0-0 2, Mortensen 2 0-0 4, Gerrells 2 1-2 5, Stockton 0 0-1 0, Gregorak 0 3-4 3, Pecht 3 0-0 6. Totals 16 8-13 44.

CHENEY Stiffler 3 2-2 10, Eggart 0 2-2 2, Waller 4 0-1 8, Urdahl 4 2-3 12, Goetz 1 0-0 2, Donnelly 0 0-0 0, Reser 1 0-1 2, Parker 2 0-0 4, Malisani 7 4-4 18, Stoddard 4 0-0 8, Sobotta 2 1-2 5. Totals 28 11-15 71.

3-point goals - Cardwell, Sweet 3, Stiffler 2, Urdahl 2. Total fouls - WV 16, Cheney 14. Fouled Out - none.

Colville 54, Pullman 35

Tim Sprangers’ 13 rebounds and seven assists helped the Indians (8-5, 4-1) beat the visiting Greyhounds (7-6, 2-4) and keep pace with Cheney in first place.

Colville has won four straight and five of six. Idle Clarkston (10-1, 3-1) fell one-half game behind the leaders.

Pullman 11 5 9 10 - 35

Colville 13 19 11 11 - 54

PULLMAN Linehan 0 0-0 0, Randall 0 0-0 0, Brown 2 0-0 5, Harms 4 2-4 10, Holmes 1 0-0 3, Svingen 1 0-0 2, B.Cummings 4 1-3 9, A.Cummings 2 0-1 4, Marong 1 0-2 2.

COLVILLE Eslick 0 1-3 1, Meinhold 0 1-2 1, Ortner 2 2-4 8, True 5 0-4 10, Sprangers 5 0-0 10, Day 3 0-0 8, Bowland 5 0-0 10, Smith 1 0-0 2, Salina 2 0-0 4.

3-point goals - Brown, Holmes, Ortner 2, Day 2. Total fouls - Pullman 10, Colville 11. Fouled Out - none. Technicals - Pullman bench 2.

, DataTimes