GSL boys: Central Valley beat G-Prep in defensive battle

The Central Valley and Gonzaga Prep boys basketball teams play sound defense.

The scary thing is they’re both going to get better as the Greater Spokane League season progresses.

The difference Tuesday came down to offensive execution, as the defending champion Bears held a significant advantage in a 51-43 win at Gonzaga Prep.

CV (2-0) used three 3-pointers to open a 16-2 lead five minutes into the game.

When CV senior point guard Adam Chamberlain picked up his second foul with 2:21 to go in the first quarter, he sat the rest of the half.

That allowed the Bullpups (1-1) to pull within 29-19 by halftime.

The defenses took over in the third quarter as the teams combined for 11 points before CV ended the period with a 35-24 lead.“Whenever you play Prep, you know you’re in for a battle,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “They hang their hat on their defense and do a great job. And we try to hang our hat on our defense, too. Usually when you play these guys it’s a defensive slugfest, and tonight was no exception.”

With Chamberlain in the middle of things in the fourth, CV opened a 50-35 lead.

G-Prep got the lead to less than double digits in the final minute, but it wasn’t enough.

Chamberlain lead all scorers with 15 points in 20 minutes. He also had five assists. CV finished with 13 assists.

“He brings another dynamic to us,” Sloan said.

Four of Chamberlain’s assists came in the fourth.

“He makes a lot of things happen,” Sloan said. “This team gets along with each other. They enjoy sharing the ball and making the next pass. It’s fun to watch for me and it’s fun for them to play that way.”

Justin Fayant hit three 3-pointers to finish with nine points and six rebounds for CV. Austin Daines and AJ Knudsen also had six rebounds.

Ryan Alexander led G-Prep with 14 points, five steals and three rebounds. Frankie Hoerner came off the bench to score 10 points.

Mt. Spokane 61, Rogers 50: Stu Stiles scored a game-high 29 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Wildcats (2-1, 1-1) past the visiting Pirates (0-3, 0-2). Dominic Sanders and Steve Cavitt had 15 points each for Rogers.

Mead 45, North Central 35: Max Hess had 13 points and Mitchell Banaugh 10 as the Panthers (2-1, 1-0) topped the visiting Indians (0-3, 0-2). Marcus Saugen led NC with 12.

Shadle Park 62, Lewis and Clark 49: Four Highlanders scored in double figures as Shadle (1-1, 1-0) downed the visiting Tigers (1-3, 0-2). Freshman Andreas Brown led the Highlanders with 15 points, Alvin Welch had 14 and George Pilimai and Skyler Kelley had 12 apiece. Brody Asbury led LC with 10.

Ferris 57, University 45: Cody Benzel led the visiting Saxons (2-0) with 23 points. Michael Isoltalo had 17 for the Titans (1-1).