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State 2B boys: St. George’s storms back, earns return to championship game

Ben Adams of St. George’s drives to the basket against Life Christian Academy during Friday’s State 2B semifinal at the Arena. The Dragons beat Life Christian Academy 65-57. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)
By Dan Thompson For The Spokesman-Review

As time expired, St. George’s junior Dan Rigsby tossed the ball in the air, caught it and squeezed it tightly, screaming.

Rigsby held it for a few more seconds as the Dragons celebrated their semifinal victory over the Life Christian Academy Eagles at the Arena, showing little desire to let it go.

“It was all about the emotions,” Rigsby said of the moment. “Coming back … I was just so excited, man.”

After a 15-steal performance in the quarterfinals, the Dragons had 12 more thefts Friday night and came back from an early 10-point deficit to beat the seventh-seeded Eagles 65-57 for a spot in the State 2B championship.

“We don’t ever stop,” Rigsby said. “We fight for every loose ball.”

Third-seeded St. George’s (24-2) will play top-seeded Kittitas (27-1) on Saturday at 9 p.m.in a rematch of last year’s championship game, which the Coyotes won 65-50.

St. George’s defeated Kittitas this season, 75-66 on Nov. 30.

“We’re ready for it. We know the team that we are. We think we’re better,” St. George’s senior Ben Adams said. “We want to go out there and prove it.”

Adams hit two baskets during a 7-0 Dragons run to start the third quarter, giving St. George’s a 31-30 lead. He finished with a game-high 29 points on 9-of-22 shooting.

The pace of play picked up from there, with neither team building a lead greater than four until the Dragons went on another 7-0 run to break a 52-all tie.

Ben Adams (2) of Saint George
Ben Adams (2) of Saint George’s goes up to the basket under pressure from LCA during the state 2B semifinal on Saturday, March 1, 2019 at the Spokane Arena. The Saint George’s Dragons beat the Life Christian Academy (LCA) Eagles 65-57. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)

Senior Xander Werkman capped that run with a transition basket with 1 minute, 6 seconds to go. Werkman finished with 11 rebounds and nine points.

Rigsby added 15 points, including an uncontested layup for the game’s final basket. He also had five assists and two steals, giving him nine steals in two games this tournament.

“If you’re in the right position defensively, you get that (steal),” Dragons coach Ryan Peplinski said of the team’s defense. “We help, and then we help the helper, and we take away that extra pass.”

Sophomore Omari Maulana led the Eagles with 25 points. He hit 3 of 8 3-point attempts and 9 of 24 shots overall, including two baskets in the final minute to keep the Eagles in it.

“Down the stretch, he hit some really tough shots. He is gonna be a heck of a player. He is a heck of a player,” Peplinski said of Maulana. “Watching him last year, he could really blow by and get to the rim. He’s added some things to his game.”

The Eagles outrebounded the Dragons 40-35, but had seven more turnovers.

Life Christian Academy plays Brewster for third place today at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday

Kittitas 77, Brewster 71: Senior Brock Ravet scored 40 points and the Coyotes forced two late turnovers to beat the Bears and advance to the state championship game for the third year in a row.

Ravet, a Gonzaga recruit, hit 7 of 14 3-point attempts and 16 of 32 field goals for his 40 points, which matched a season high.

Caleb Harris (00) of Kittitas tries to gain possesion of a rebound as Conner Ashworth (50) of Brewster does the same during the semifinal of the state 2B tournament on Saturday, March 1, 2019 at the Spokane Arena. The Kittitas Coyotes beat the Brewster Bears in an exciting 77-71 win. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)
Caleb Harris (00) of Kittitas tries to gain possesion of a rebound as Conner Ashworth (50) of Brewster does the same during the semifinal of the state 2B tournament on Saturday, March 1, 2019 at the Spokane Arena. The Kittitas Coyotes beat the Brewster Bears in an exciting 77-71 win. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)

Kittitas led 41-38 at half. Neither team led by more than seven.

Junior post Conner Ashworth led the Bears with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting. He also had 15 rebounds and hit 3 of 4 free throws.

Toledo 58, Willapa Valley 40: Westin Wallace and Hayden Farbo scored 14 points apiece and the second-seeded Indians (25-5) eliminated the sixth-seeded Vikings (24-6).

Wallace added 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks for Toledo. Matt Pearson led Willapa Valley with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

The Indians separated themselves from the Vikings in the second quarter, outscoring them 15-5 to take a 23-12 lead into the break.

Toledo dominated the paint, scoring 22 of its 58 points inside and allowing Willapa Valley only four.

Lake Roosevelt 56, Toutle Lake 48: Trevor McCraigie scored 20 points and the eighth-seeded Raiders (20-10) eliminated the fifth-seeded Ducks (20-10).

Logan Grabenhorst led Toutle Lake with 14 points. Hunter Whitelaw added 14 points with a team-high eight rebounds for Lake Roosevelt.

The Ducks’ Mike Adams had 12 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. A big difference was at the free-throw line as Lake Roosevelt hit 14 of 17, but Toutle Lake was 9 for 19.

The Raiders also held Toutle Lake to 34 percent shooting.