Ferris, Shadle Move On Both Open With First-Round Victories At Boys State Aaa Tournament

The first day of a state tournament is about jitters and adjustments.

The best way to win is to latch onto the coattails of the player who remains calm and adjusts quickest.

For Shadle Park, that player has always been Chris Anderson. For Ferris, it could be anybody, and Wednesday at the boys State AAA basketball tournament in the Kingdome it was Jason Weatherred.

Weatherred scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and took a huge charge to spark No. 3 Ferris to an opening-round 52-37 win over defending state champion Sehome.

“I felt really relaxed for some reason,” said Weatherred, who hit 10 straight free throws and 11 of 13 overall. “I don’t know why. I think that’s why I hit all those free throws.”

Anderson had 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals to lift Shadle Park to a 49-38 win over No. 10 Lincoln.

“I was just kind of excited to be here,” said Anderson, who made 7-of-12 shots, including three 3-pointers. “I knew we would shoot OK, it’s kind of like the (Spokane) Arena, the lights are right in your eyes. It’s a little bit bigger, though.”

The Highlanders’ reward is a 1:30 p.m. game today against No. 6 Prairie (21-2). The Falcons destroyed Bothell 71-51 behind University of Washington-bound Dan Dickau’s 20 points and 6-foot-8 junior Zach Gourde’s 10 rebounds.

“We might have to slow the ball down a little bit and take good shots,” Highlanders coach Darcy Weisner said. “They are loaded.”

Ferris plays No. 7 Port Angeles (23-1), a 56-53 winner over Columbia River (17-8), at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday’s late game started an hour late.

Richland made it a sweep for the East by opening the tournament with a 55-38 win over Garfield.

Shadle Park 49, Lincoln 38

The Highlanders (20-7) got what they expected against the Abes (19-5).

“If you watch them play, they’re very athletic, very physical …” Weisner said. “It forces us to play ugly and forces them to play ugly.”

The Highlanders defense forced 18 turnovers against the impatient Abes and despite shooting just 36 percent (8 of 22) in the first half, Shadle scored 13 points after turnovers. The key was in the second quarter when the Abes scored the first and last baskets, 7 minutes apart, and the Highlanders scored 12 points in between, eight off turnovers.

Jeff Meyers started the surge for Shadle with a putback basket. Anderson followed with a pair of baskets in the lane and Kerry Hipps made two free throws. Meyers added a fadeaway jumper from the left and Hipps closed it with a layup off of Nate Dunham’s steal and assist.

The Abes finished at 31 percent (15 of 48), including 0 of 12 from 3-point range. Shadle heated up in the second half, finishing 18 of 40 (45 percent) as Anderson drilled three 3s. Anderson and Meyers also combined for 17 rebounds.

Shadle Park 7 12 14 16 - 49

Lincoln 11 4 14 9 - 38

SHADLE PARK Wynne 0 0-0 0, Doyle 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Beal 0 0- 0 0, Dunham 4 1-2 10, Jones 0 0-0 0, Meyers 4 1-2 9, Anderson 7 1-4 18, Mohr 0 0-0 0, Hann 1 0-0 2, Glanzer 0 0-0 0, Hipps 2 6-11 10. Totals 18 9-19 49.

LINCOLN Vojta 1 0-0 2, Howard 0 0-0 0, Washington 1 3-3 5, Adams 0 2-3 2, Sawyer 0 0-0 0, Fuller 4 0-0 8, Wyatt 0 0-0 0, Warren 1 0-0 2, White 0 0-0 0, Gunsauls 1 0-0 2, Cureton 7 3-4 17. Totals 15 8-10 38. i

3-point goals - Dunham, Anderson 3. Total fouls - SP 7, Lincoln 16. Fouled out - none.

Ferris 52, Sehome 37

The Saxons (23-2) weathered a third-quarter storm that saw an 18-point, second-quarter lead shrink to one when the Mariners (17-9) went on a 12-0 run.

Ferris was scoreless for 4:39, missing two shots and committing five turnovers. When Jacob Stevenson and Kyle Felmley made back-to-back 3s, Sehome was within 29-28 with 2:28 to go in the third quarter. The Saxons responded with a pair of 3s by Justin Bursch and Jeremy Lucke to close the quarter with a 35-28 advantage.

“Defensively we were doing a pretty good job of getting up on them and taking away the 3 and limiting them to one shot,” Ferris coach Wayne Gilman said. “Later, they were taking 3s that were probably not as good of shots as they wanted to take and hitting them to get back in the game.”

Ferris hit 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to finish 23 of 27.

Sehome was primed for its final charge, trailing 45-37 when the Saxons turned the ball over with just over a minute left. That’s when Weatherred stood his ground and Stevenson charged into him.

The Saxons had a 42-28 rebounding edge, with Lucke grabbing 10 to go with his 10 points.

Sehome 4 9 15 9 - 37

Ferris 12 15 8 17 - 17

SEHOME Turrell 1 1-3 4, McBridge 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Stevenson 3 0-1 8, Stull 0 0-0 0, Harvie 0 0-0 0, Felmley 4 0-0 9, Stratton 7 0-2 14, Summers 0 0-0 0, Pendry 0 2-4 2, Vitalich 0 0-0 0, Dalvit 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3- 10 37.

FERRIS Bursch 1 2-2 5, Sleeth 0 1-2 1, Gill 0 0-0 0, Servine 2 0-0 5, Atkins 0 0-0 0, Lucke 3 3-4 10, Soter 0 0-0 0, Watts 0 2-2 2, Hodl 1 0-0 2, Gordon 3 4-4 10, Hamilton 0 0-0 0, Weatherred 4 11-13 17. Totals 13 23-27 52.

3-point goals - Turrell, Stevenson 2, Felmley, Bursch, Servine, Lucke. Total fouls - Sehome 23, Ferris 12. Fouled out Felmley.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo