West Valley Wraps Up Victory Early

Frontier League boys

Unlike the first time boys basketball rivals West Valley and East Valley met, the Eagles took care of business early Friday night.

Behind a long-range barrage, the Eagles stormed to a 23-5 lead on the way to a 70-54 victory.

The victory was nice, even if lost in the antics of the Golden Throne spirit game sideshow. Even better was the later news that Riverside had upset Colville 68-67.

As a result, the Eagles (10-4, 5-2) gained ground on the Indians (10-6, 6-2) in the Frontier League.

When last the Eagles and Knights played, it wasn’t until the third quarter that WV pulled away.

This time, Josh Sweet hit his first three shots for an 8-0 Eagle start. He finished the first half - and the game - with 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Five of his baskets were 3-pointers.

WV led 42-21 before East Valley scored the final three points of the half and ran off nine straight in the first 4:23 of the third quarter.

Kurt Hansen had eight of the Knights’ points during the run that cut WV’s lead to nine points.

But the Eagles went inside and pushed their lead back to 16 points at third quarter’s end.

Shooting by both teams was almost as entertaining as the rabid antics of the nearly 2,000 fans, who packed the gym.

West Valley banged down eight treys in the first half on 16-of-28 shooting overall, and East Valley answered with three. The Knights had five during the game.

Brad Wilson scored a dozen points for the Knights before injuring his thumb 10 seconds before halftime.

James Spotted Horse led EV with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

West Valley 70, East Valley 54

West Valley 23 19 14 14 - 70

East Valley 5 19 16 14 - 54

WEST VALLEY McLachlan 0 0-0 0, Hilsabeck 0 0-0 0, Cardwell 6 1-1 15, Sweet 6 2-2 19, Deno 1 0-0 2, Sorensen 0 0-0 0, Groh 1 0-1 2, Mortensen 3 2-2 8, Gerrells 3 1-1 7, Stockton 0 1-2 1, Gregorak 2 1-2 5, Pecht 5 0-0 11. Totals 27 8-11 70.

EAST VALLEY McCarty 1 0-0 3, Blize 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Wilson 5 0-0 12, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Anderson 2 2-3 6, Harris 0 1-2 1, Sams 1 0-0 2, Shogren 0 2-4 2, Hansen 4 0-3 10, Spotted Horse 7 0-0 14. Totals 22 5-12 54.

3-point goals - Sweet 5, Cardwell 2, Peck, Wilson 2, Hanson 2, McCarty. Total fouls - EV 17, WV 14. Fouled Out - Johnson. Technicals - EV Coach.

Riverside 68, Colville 67

Riverside rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to upset Colville on the road.

League scoring leader Ryan Monroe fired home 32 points for the Rams (4-12, 2-6), including a 3-point basket - one of four he had during the game - that put his team ahead for good with 1:30 remaining.

Jed Ortner paced the Indians with 23 points, including seven treys, in a night of long-range Frontier League shooting.

Riverside 14 18 12 24 - 68

Colville 21 18 9 19 - 67

RIVERSIDE Otto 1 4-4 7, Monroe 10 8-8 32, Daubel 0 3-4 3, Frowick 3 0-0 8, Leaf 3 0-5 6, Crance 2 0-0 4, Kapelke 1 2-2 4, Miller 2 0-0 4. Team totals - 22 17-23 68.

COLVILLE Eslick 0 0-0 0, Meinhold 5 0-0 13, Ortner 7 2-2 23, True 4 2-3 10, Sprangers 2 1-5 5, Day 0 0-0 0, Bowland 2 1-2 5, Salina 3 5-6 11. Team totals - 23 11-18 67.

3-point goals - Riverside 7 (Monroe 4, Frowick 2, Otto), Colville 10 (Ortner 7, Meinhold 3). Total fouls - Riverside 15, Colville 20. Fouled out - Leaf, Crance. Technicals - Riverside bench.

, DataTimes