Ferris Plucks Ot Win Saxons Rally Past Tigers In Rubber Chicken Battle To Hold Their Share Of Gsl Boys Lead

Lewis and Clark sneaked into the chicken coop and got caught red-handed, but the Tigers would have been happy to chuck Chuck if they could have escaped with the game.

In the legendary Rubber Chicken game, which was responsible for a vast majority of the 7,816 fans at the Arena Friday night, Ferris rallied from a miserable first half to edge LC 61-57 in double overtime, keeping the third-ranked Saxons tied for first place in the Greater Spokane League boys basketball standings.

Ferris (6-1 GSL, 9-1 overall) also won Chuck the Chicken in the spirit contest for the third straight year.

“One thing we said at the half is we’ve got to step it up,” Ferris coach Wayne Gilman said. “We just weren’t competing. It’s a real big win in terms of getting so far behind and we got back into it.”

LC (4-3, 8-3) was flawless in the second quarter, racing to a 28-12 lead but 8 minutes later, the lead was just 40-37 and the final margin was the largest over the final 16 minutes.

“It was a game of two halves,” Tigers coach Glenn Williams said. “We dominated the first half, they dominated the second half. We had our chances. We made some great plays and then they came down and made great plays. It was a great high school basketball game.”

Junior point guard Justin Bursch scored all six Ferris points in overtime, starting it off with a three-point play that gave the Saxons the lead for good with 3:04 to play.

Mike Lynch made it a one-point game with 43 seconds remaining when he stepped inside the foul line and dropped a jumper. Before the Tigers could foul, Bursch drove the left baseline for a layup, effectively ending the game, especially since Paul Mencke, LC’s leading scorer, had fouled out.

Mencke, who finished with 20 points, picked up his fifth foul with 5 seconds left in the first overtime. Leonard Harmon converted the second of the two foul shots, tying the game at 55.

Ferris forced the first overtime when sophomore Tom Servine fed Scott Stocum for a layup with 9 seconds left. That tied the game at 48. Mencke’s long 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

“There were several key plays, players driving to the basket,” Gilman said. “It was three or four different guys that did it.”

The biggest factor, though, was the halftime adjustment Ferris made in its defense.

“We went into a much more gambling press,” Gilman said. “We put more pressure on the ball, which caused problems. In the first half, we were in our two-man trap and they picked it apart pretty well.”

The Tigers opened the second quarter with a 14-0 run and had the lead up to 19 points 2 minutes before the half.

Ferris opened the second half with a 10-2 run and started the fourth quarter with a Servine drive and Stocum free throw to tie the game at 40.

“The trap forced us out of our routine,” Williams said. “We did a great job attacking the zone in the first half. We lost our aggression and it was hard to get it back.”“Coach tells us it’s not about the chicken, it’s about the game,” Stocum said. “Two years ago, the same thing happened and he yelled at us (at halftime). Yeah, he raised his voice a little bit.”

LC 9 19 12 8 7 2 - 57

Ferris 6 6 25 11 7 6 - 61

LEWIS AND CLARK Steuckle 2 0-0 5, Homer 5 7-9 19, Lynch 4 1-2 9, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Etter 1 0-0 2, Vick 1 0-0 2, Adams 0 0-0 0, Mencke 7 6-6 20, Stack 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-17 57.

FERRIS Bursch 4 3-5 13, Servine 3 0-0 6, Hardan 3 2-2 10, Lucke 0 0-0 0, Henneberry 4 1-4 9, Harmon 3 5-6 11, Stocum 5 2-4 12, Weatherred 0 0-0 0. Totals-22 13-21 61.

3-point goals - Steuckle, Homer, Bursch 2, Hardan 2. Total fouls - LC 20, Ferris 21. Fouled out - Mencke, Hardan.

North Central 63, Rogers 53

Marshall Kuhlman and Jerry Holdren each scored 11 points as the Indians (3-4, 6-5) downed the Pirates (0-7, 1-10) at Rogers.

North Central made four 3-pointers and forced 17 turnovers.

Kent Browning had eight steals, and Chris Goldsmith added 10 assists for Rogers.

North Central 12 15 20 16 - 63

Rogers 12 9 16 16 - 53

NORTH CENTRAL Plaster 0 0-0 0, Turner 0 0-0 0, Blanchat 2 2-7 6, Blotsky 4 0-0 9, Kuhlman 4 2-2 11, Holdren 5 1-3 11, Hieb 5 0-0 11, Young 0 3-4 3, Kapelke 2 0-0 4, Eschenbacher 4 0-0 8.Totals 26 7-16 63.

ROGERS Browning 2 0-2 4, Goldsmith 1 0-1 2, Cuculich 4 1-2 9, Oglesbee 2 3-4 9, Mosby 6 2-5 14, Hassett 1 0-1 2, Dainty 6 1-1 13, Pugh 0 0-0 0, Hemphill 0 0-0 0.Totals 22 7-16 53.

3-point goals - Hieb, Kuhlman 2, Blotsky, Oglesbee 2. Total fouls - NC 14, Rogers 19. Fouled out - Mosby. Technicals - Kuhlman, Webber.

G-Prep 67, Shadle Park 52

Justin Powell scored 16 points and Brian Herrin added 15 as the Bullpups (4-3, 8-3) beat the Highlanders (2-5, 3-8) at Shadle Park.

Gonzaga Prep held Shadle scoreless for the game’s first 3 minutes and opened a 21-4 lead in the first quarter.

Chris Anderson scored a season-high 19 points for the Highlanders.

Gonzaga Prep 21 17 19 10 - 67

Shadle Park 4 13 13 22 - 52

GONZAGA PREP Kocharhook 3 0-0 7, Dixson 1 0-2 3, Kordash 0 0-0 0, Thielman 1 0-0 2, B.Sweeny 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 1-2 1, Powell 7 0-0 16, P.Sweeny 2 0-0 4, Herrin 7 1-1 15, McFarland 2 1-4 5, Egger 1 1-1 3, Hartnett 4 3-4 11. Totals 28 7-14 67.

SHADLE PARK Dunham 3 3-4 10, Cook 3 1-1 7, Kingsbury 2 0-0 4, Pate 2 4-4 9, Baune 0 1-2 1, Anderson 7 2-4 19, Mohr 0 0-0 0, Hann 1 0-0 2, Hipps 0 0-0 0, Mark Jones 0.Totals 18 11-15 52.

3-point goals - Kocharhook, Dixson 1, Powell 2, Dunham, Pate, Anderson 3. Total fouls - GP 17, Shadle 17.

Mead 56, Central Valley 36

Ralph Castaneda scored eight of his 22 points in the first quarter to lead the Panthers (6-1, 8-3) over the Bears (4-4, 7-5) at the Arena.

Mead held Central Valley scoreless in the opening period as the Bears went 0-14 from the field.

Central Valley 0 13 9 14 - 36

Mead 10 16 12 18 - 56

CENTRAL VALLEY Nesbitt 1 0-03, mi llar 0 0-0 0, Smith 1 0-0 3, Schuh 4 3-5 12, Abrams 0 0-0 0, Allen 2 4-6 8, Platt 1 3-6 5, Hinckley 1 0-0 2, McFarlane 0 1-2 1, May 0 0-0 0, Schulz 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 11-19 36.

MEAD Morris 1 0-0 3, Klaus 3 0-0 6, Inderrieden 1 2-4 4 , Riccelli 0 0-0 0, Armitage 1 2-2 4, West 1 0-0 2, Long 6 0-0 13, Eggers 0 0-0 0, Walton 0 0-0 0, Castaneda 8 6-9 22, Myers 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 10-15 56.

3-point goals - Nesbitt, Smith, Shuh, Morris, Long. Total fouls - CV 13, Mead 17. Technicals - Castaneda.

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