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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Deyarmin’s hot shooting leads CV’s boys to state

Gaven Deyarmin didn’t have a perfect game, but the Central Valley senior standout had the closest thing to it Friday.

Deyarmin made all 10 of his shots from the field and the Bears never trailed on their way to a 76-63 win over the Richland Bombers in a 4A regional boys basketball game at Spokane Falls Community College.

CV (20-3), with 17 consecutive wins, advances to state, beginning Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. It’s the Bears’ first trip to state since 2006 when they finished runner-up.

Most of Deyarmin’s baskets came within spitting range of the rim. He finished with a season-high 23 points, 14 more than his average, to go with five assists and four rebounds.

“He’s our leading assist guy,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “He doesn’t care about his points. He just wants us to win. That’s why he’s such a great leader and it’s a big reason why we’re making the run we’re making.”

CV broke out quickly, opening an 18-6 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers pulled Richland (15-10) within 18-12, but transition baskets by Anthony Brommer and Adam Chamberlain allowed the Bears to take a 24-12 lead into the second quarter.

That’s when Richland tightened things up considerably, thanks to long-range sharpshooter Payton Radliff, a sophomore. While CV’s defense was smothering All-Columbia Basin Big Nine first-team pick Adam Baker, who scored 17 points when the Bears beat the Bombers 57-56 in late December, CV lost track of Radliff, who scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the period. He made his first four shots, including two 3-pointers, and added another 3-pointer later.

Radliff had just one basket in the final two quarters.

“Our focus was heavily on Baker and I thought we did a nice job defending him,” Sloan said. “Radliff kind of flew under the radar and got hot.”

A 3-pointer from Austin Rehkow gave CV a 36-29 lead going into halftime.

Richland made things interesting through the first half of the third.

After Deyarmin scored in transition off a pass from Garrett Sawyer to give CV a 42-32 lead, the Bombers began to chip away. A 3-pointer by Mason Hilty pulled the Bombers within 47-46 at the 3:18 mark.

That’s as close as Richland got.

CV used a late-period surge and a 3-pointer from Rehkow in the waning seconds for a 57-48 lead heading into the final quarter.

Richland never got closer than six in the fourth.

“I got help from my teammates; they got me started early with a couple of easy baskets where they were driving and gave me the ball and I had an easy look,” Deyarmin said. “From there, I just felt like I could go to the hole.”

Midway in the fourth, Deyarmin was wide open just above the free-throw line and he pitched it back to Sawyer, who buried a 3-pointer. That’s typical of how CV has played this season.

“That’s our game,” Deyarmin said. “If someone has a better shot than you do, then you give it up.”

The 6-foot-1 Sawyer was a monster on the boards, finishing with 11 including six offensive grabs. He also had 12 points, two assists and two steals.

“I’ve got great teammates and they just found me and I found them,” Sawyer said.

Sloan smiled when reminded his team’s last loss came in the game before the December win against Richland.

“I was really hoping today that we would play well, because this group really deserves to go (to state),” Sloan said.

In the other regional game, No. 1-ranked Davis cruised past Evergreen of Vancouver 69-46.