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

Rogers capture opener over Shadle Park

Rogers’ Deavon Daniels, left, blocks a Nick Bettinson shot. (Colin Mulvany)

The Rogers Pirates talked about their rally.

The Shadle Park Highlanders talked about squandering a six-point lead with 1:39 remaining.

Deavon Daniels’ free throw with four-tenths of a second remaining lifted the Pirates to a 63-62 win in a Greater Spokane League boys basketball opener Tuesday at Shadle Park.

Rogers took advantage of four Shadle Park turnovers in the final 1:10. None proved more costly than the one right in front of the Highlanders’ bench with 9.5 seconds to go.

After a timeout, a runner by Rogers’ Nik Hellenthal came up short, but Daniels rebounded the ball and was fouled attempting a putback. He made the first free throw and missed the second.

Daniels’ younger brother, Amaujae, pulled Rogers within 62-60 with 30 seconds to go when he made both ends of a 1-and-1 opportunity. He got a steal on the ensuing entry pass and made a tying basket as he was fouled. To that point the sophomore had made 8 of 8 foul shots, but his ninth fell short with the score knotted at 62.

After running some time off the clock, Shadle called a timeout with 9.7 seconds remaining. But the Highlanders turned it over trying to inbounds the ball, setting up the Pirates’ dramatic finish.

“A lot of momentum switches and crazy possessions, but we’ll take it,” Rogers coach Tim Wood said. “We got a couple of breaks at the end, but I think we deserved it for all of our effort. I think all year long it’s going to be a battle every night. You can take a (loss) or take a (win). It’s going to be that kind of league. I don’t know if there’s any difference between the 3A and 4A teams. It’s a lot of good teams battling for few playoff spots, especially in the 3A. We hope to be right there.”

Amaujae Daniels scored a team-high 19 points off the bench. His brother Deavon had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

“It’s a big shot to win the game. There was pressure and I felt it,” Deavon Daniels said. “But I’ve been playing this game a long time so it comes natural. It was a dogfight. (Shadle’s) a really good team.”

Shadle appeared to have things in control when it matched its biggest lead at 60-54 on a free throw from Levi McBournie. But the Highlanders, who had 17 turnovers, coughed the ball up seven times in the final period.

Kionte Brown led Shadle with 18 points. Brett Boese had 13 rebounds to go with 11 points.

University 60, Mead 53: The Panthers raced to a 28-15 lead at home but couldn’t hold it. Mead led 41-39 going into the fourth quarter, but U-Hi outscored the Panthers 21-12. Zech Martin scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half for U-Hi. Garrett Swanson led Mead with 15.

North Central 71, Mt. Spokane 54: The Indians jumped out to a 43-19 lead by halftime and cruised at NC. Jonathan Smith led NC with 17 points. Hunter Hahn led the Wildcats with 17 points.

Central Valley 61, Lewis and Clark 58: Tyler Chamberlain made a layup and foul shot with 4 seconds left to lift the visiting Bears. The final margin was CV’s lone lead. LC blew a 14-point lead. Garret Sawyer had 14 points to lead CV and Jeff Livingston led LC with 19.

Girls

Lewis and Clark 55, Central Valley 45: The Tigers secured the league-opening win on the boards as they outrebounded the visiting Bears 36-27. Hayley Hendricksen had a team-high 10 rebounds to go with 13 points. Brooke Gallaway led CV with 20 points.

Shadle Park 70, Rogers 16: The Highlanders raced to a 46-9 lead after two quarters over the visiting Pirates. Chelsea Chandler led balanced Shadle with 14 points, Kendra Knutsen had 13 points and four steals and Aleisha Hathaway had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

North Central 34, Mt. Spokane 24: Riley Holsinger scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Indians past the visiting Wildcats. NC’s Tara Van Weerhuizen had 12 rebounds, six blocked shots and five steals.

University 61, Mead 49: The visiting Titans outscored the Panthers 20-7 in the deciding fourth period. Hallie Gennett led U-Hi with 12 points. Taylor Ingebritsen led Mead with 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Gonzaga Prep 58, Ferris 38: Tia Presley scored a game-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Bullpups. Lauren Earthman had 11 points, four steals and three rebounds for the Saxons.