Shadle Finishes On A Foul Note Richland Free Throws Do In Highlander Boys At State

It looked like a perfect way to end the season, late in a game at the boys State AAA basketball tournament, the senior starters leave the game one-by-one for a seat on the bench.

Only it wasn’t perfect.

All five Shadle Park starters made the trip to the bench by fouling out as Richland held off the Highlanders 68-60 in a loser-out game at the Kingdome.

The fifth-ranked Bombers (24-3) paraded to the foul line 42 times, making 30 and scoring their last 19 points on 24 free-throw attempts to beat the Highlanders in a close game for the third time this season.

Shadle Park (20-9) was in the game late, trailing just 61-60 after the Highlanders’ Nate Dunham drilled a 3-pointer with 1:23 to play. Shadle didn’t hit another shot, and Richland closed the game out at the foul line.

“We needed to get something to happen and it didn’t,” Shadle Park coach Darcy Weisner said. “But like I told them, they hung in there.”

A dry spell early in the second quarter hurt the Highlanders.

Chris Anderson had given Shadle Park a 16-15 lead with a pair of free throws. Less than 90 seconds later the Bombers were up 24-16. Jordan Robinson knocked down two 3’s, 6-foot-6 Big Nine MVP Scott Salisbury muscled inside for a basket and David Lehrschall made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Highlanders in a hole.

Shadle Park came back and eventually caught the Bombers at 38 late in the third quarter but could never pull ahead.

Anderson had 21 points and six rebounds and Jeff Meyers had 17 points and seven boards for Shadle.

“I kind of lost my confidence in that last game, just knowing that the season was over,” Anderson said. “We haven’t beat them all year. We should have; we had our chances.”

Dunham, with stitches over his right eye and a sore ankle courtesy of a rough quarterfinal loss, had 14 points and four steals for Shadle.

“I don’t know if we had the desire … we just couldn’t turn it on today,” Dunham said. “They’re a good team, too.”

Richland 68, Shadle Park 60

Richland 13 18 14 23 - 68 Shadle Park 12 17 12 19 - 60

RICHLAND - McClelland 3 6-7 13, Lehrschall 2 8-10 13, Robinson 2 2- 4 8, Stottlemyre 0 1-2 1, Coleman 1 1-2 3, Martin 1 2-2 4, Salisbury 8 10-15 26. Totals 17 30-42 68.

SHADLE PARK - Wynne 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Beal 0 0-1 0, Dunham 4- 4-5 14, Jones 0 0-0 0, Meyers 5 6-7 17, Anderson 6 7-8 21, Mohr 0 1-2 1, Hann 1 2-2 4, Glanzer 0 0-0 0, Hipps 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 20-25 60.

3-point goals - McClelland, Lehrschall, Robinson 2, Dunham 2, Meyers, Anderson 2, Hipps. Total fouls - Rich 20, SP 30. Fouled out - Robinson, Dunham, Meyers, Anderson, Mohr, Hann.

, DataTimes