Central Valley boys edge Ferris

Defense and execution late propelled the Central Valley boys basketball team past visiting Ferris 44-42 in a Greater Spokane League game Tuesday. Central Valley (2-2 overall, 2-1 league) came out of a timeout with 31 seconds left with a 41-40 lead. Austin Rehkow ran his defender off a back screen and took a perfect lob from Gaven Deyarmin, who was inbounding the ball near the Bears’ bench. Rehkow made a layup for the winning difference. Nathan Galgalo got a putback off a missed 3-point shot by Chase Haack to pull the Saxons (2-2, 1-2) within 43-42 with 6 seconds to go. After a timeout, CV’s Adam Chamberlain got loose on an inbounds play and took an inbounds pass from Deyarmin as the Saxons fell short on a steal and a quick foul. Chamberlain was fouled near CV’s baseline with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and he made 1 of 2 foul shots. The Bears had to fight back from a 15-point deficit after scoring a season-low 11 points in the first half. “It was a gutsy effort down the stretch,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “We thought if we could get a couple to drop we could crawl our way back into it.” A basket in the key by Chase Haack put Ferris up 26-11 early in the third quarter. But the Bears, who made just 5 of 22 shots from the field in the first half, including just 1 of 12 from 3-point range, started going inside in the second half and that proved decisive. CV’s Anthony Brommer scored all 10 of his points in the key in the third as he made 4 of 4 shots to go with two free throws. Deyarmin and Rehkow got a pair of assists as they purposely looked inside. “We knew we had to attack (inside) because our shots weren’t falling,” Brommer said. “We started attacking and that left (Brommer) open and he did a good job finishing them,” Rehkow said. The Bears trimmed the Saxons’ lead to 32-29 going into the fourth. CV’s Dustin Dach made his lone shot, a 3-pointer, to tie the game at 32 with 5:57 to go in the fourth. Haack hit a hook shot in the key followed by another basket off a cut in the post to push Ferris back in front at 36-32. The Bears forged a 38 tie when Garrett Sawyer converted a steal into a three-point play with 2:16 remaining. The Saxons’ final lead at 41-40 came when Cody Benzel made both ends of a 1-and-1 situation with 1:33 to go. “Both teams played really good defense and it just came down to who had the ball last,” Sloan said. “There’s a lot of parity in the league. It was one of those games that neither team deserved to lose because both teams were playing hard.” Rehkow led CV with 11 points and five rebounds and Brommer and Deyarmin had 10 points each. Deymarin also had six rebounds. Lewis and Clark 63, Shadle Park 61: A tying layup attempt by the Highlanders’ Kionte Brown was blocked, forcing a held ball and giving possession to the visiting Tigers (5-0, 3-0), who ran out the final 8 seconds to preserve the win. Austin Damon led LC with 20 points, Matt Dovall had 14 and Tanner Johnson had 10. LC built a 37-29 lead in the first half, but Shadle (3-2, 1-2) fought back in the second half. Brett Boese led Shadle with 16 points, Brown had 14 and Nick Bettinson added 13. University 71, North Central 43: It was close for a quarter before the Titans (5-0. 3-0) sprinted away from the visiting Indians (1-4, 1-2). Jared Miller led U-Hi with 19 points, two assists and two steals. Brett Bailey added 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals and Zech Martin chipped in 12 points. The Titans made 10 of 22 3-point attempts with Miller leading with 5 of 9 from long range. Chase McDuffie led NC with 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists. U-Hi travels to LC on Friday in a game featuring the league’s two unbeatens. Tipoff is at 5:30. Gonzaga Prep 58, Mead 51: The visiting Bullpups (2-3, 2-1) used a 16-8 surge in the third quarter to open a cushion the Panthers (0-5, 0-3) couldn’t overcome. Jacob Groh led G-Prep with 17 points and Sam Dowd had 11. Thomas Kautzman had a career-high 15 points to lead Mead. Rogers 79, Mt. Spokane 57: Four players scored in double figures to lead the visiting Pirates (1-2, 1-2) past the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2). Steve Delvechhio led Rogers with 16 points. Stu Stiles led Mt. Spokane with 26 points.