Miller Helps Lakeside Capture Third

It was Josh Miller’s final game as a Lakeside Eagle and he wasn’t concerned about making mistakes. As it turned out, he didn’t have to be.

Miller was perfect, hitting all eight of his shots from the floor and all six free throws in Lakeside’s 65-63 victory over Omak Saturday in the Tacoma Dome that earned the Eagles (18-9) third place in their first visit to the boys State A high school basketball tournament.

Omak (19-10) placed sixth.

“It’s the greatest feeling I’ve had in my life - so far,” said Miller, a 6-foot-5 senior.

Even with Miller’s output - he had a game-high 22 points - Lakeside needed 17 points from Billy Bender, all in the second half, to pull out one of the most exciting games of the tournament. George Petticrew, named to the all-tournament team, added 16 points for the Eagles.

The lead changed hands seven times in the fourth quarter. Bender, a 6-1 junior, followed Miller’s lead, canning all four of his shots and two free throws in the fourth quarter.

“That’s when I score most of my points,” said Bender. “I was playing more relaxed.”

Bender put the Eagles ahead for good with a pair of free throws with 2:02 remaining. He banked in a 10-foot jumper for the game-winning points with 42 seconds to play.

“He’s the one who got us here,” Miller said of Bender, who scored 10 points in the Eagles’ double-overtime win over Freeman for the final district berth to state. “He got us through districts.”

David Rusk, who led the Pioneers with 15 points, missed on his attempt to tie the game with 3 seconds remaining. Omak also tried to inbound a lob pass to Nick Sackman with 1 second remaining, but he couldn’t get a handle on it.

“They gave us a scare, but we kept our poise,” said Miller, who also had 10 rebounds.

Miller and Petticrew combined for 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the first quarter. Lakeside’s shooting percentage dipped the rest of the game, but not by much. The Eagles made 27 of 39 for the game for 69 percent. Lakeside also made 8 of 9 free throws.

“It’s pretty tough to overcome that,” said Omak coach Rocky Verbeck. “We still had a chance to get into overtime at the end.”

Omak shot 66 percent in the second half and 48 percent (25 of 52) for the game. Beau Baker scored 13 points for the Pioneers. Sackman added 12 and Joe Ayers 11.

Lakeside came to the state tournament last year, but had to pay to get in. That taste of what it’s all about gave the Eagles something to shoot for, said coach Kevin Mulligan.

“They’ve just been dreaming and working,” Mulligan said.

Lakeside 65, Omak 63

Omak 19 9 17 18 - 63

Lakeside 18 14 17 16 - 65

OMAK Matt 0 0-0 0, Baker 5 1-2 13, Ervin 4 1-3 9, Ayers 5 1-2 11, Sackman 5 1-2 12, Colomb 0 0-0 0, Rusk 5 3-4 15, Beetchenow 1 1-2 3. Team 25 8-15 63.

LAKESIDE Nelson 1 0-0 2, Petticrew 7 0-0 16, Bender 7 2-2 17, Feider 0 0-0 0, Brakel 0 0-0 0, J. Spiger 0 0-0 0, Day 0 0-0 0, Desenbrack 3 0-0 6, Tenny 0 0-0 0, Coe 0 0-0 0, B, Spiger 1 0-0 2, Miller 8 6-6 22. Team 27 8-9 65.

3-pointers - Omak 5 (Baker 2, Rusk 2, Sackman), Lakeside 3 (Petticrew 2, Bender). Total fouls - Omak 14, Lakeside 11. Fouled out - Ayers. Technical fouls - none.

La Center 73, Zillah 54

Derek Vanweerdhuizen scored 20 as top-ranked La Center defeated No.4 Zillah 73-54 in the championship game.

La Center 6 24 16 27 - 73

Zillah 13 12 15 14 - 54

LA CENTER Kissinger 2, De. Vanweerdhuizen 20, Du. Vanweerdhuizen 17, Stephens 10, S. Gore 18, Newman, Renner 4, Winston, Shaffer 2, T. Gore.

ZILLAH Simmons 6, Hinson, Nelson 9, Pentecost 17, Bell, Dunn, Foster, Bass 3, Liliethal, Delp 19.

Okanogan 48, Connell 45

Ryan Lafferfy scored 20 to lead Okanogan to a victory over Connell in a game to decide fourth and seventh places.

Connell 8 6 17 14 - 45

Okanogan 12 10 13 13 - 48

CONNELL Davis 10, Bailie 7, Marquardt 6, Winder 4, Clyde 1, Colclasure, Gunter 10, Rice 7.

OKANOGAN Lafferfy 20, A. Popelier 3, Lesamiz 7, Radke 12, Ward 2, Goroch, Lane, Shiflett 4, Gibson.

Lynden Christian 84, Goldendale 81

Greg Dykstra scored 29 as ninth-ranked Lynden Christian edged No.7 Goldendale to capture fifth place.

Lynden Christian 15 20 26 23 - 84

Goldendale 16 20 11 34 - 81

LYNDEN CHRISTIAN Eshuis 7, Romjue 4, Dykstra 29, Hoksbergen 6, Pauley 20, Mellema 5, Wagenaar 8, Scholten 5.

GOLDENDALE Grabenhorst 3, Crocker 10, T. Marlow 27, Rohrbacher 20, Jimicum 12, Wilson, Latimer 2, C. Marlow 4, Musser 3.