Highlanders’ Zone Keys Upset Win Over Prep

GSL boys

Back when Brewster was winning State B boys basketball championships and Darcy Weisner was coach, the Bears would drop into a soft 2-3 zone only for a minute or two just for rest, shock value or variety.

That never happened once Weisner joined the Greater Spokane League at Shadle Park 6-1/2 years ago.

Until five games ago.

Make that five wins ago after Tuesday’s surprising 55-54 upset of visiting Gonzaga Prep.

“You’ve got to swallow your pride and give the kids their best chance to win,” Weisner said after Andrew McGinn’s driving layup with 11 seconds left won it.

McGinn drove knowing he would get a layup or two foul shots and was confident because his two free throws with 1:13 to go had put the Highlanders up 53-51.

That lead only lasted until reserve Andy Bloom calmly dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 38 seconds left.

Shadle Park had two fouls to give, which were used to slow down guard Greg Johnson. With 5 seconds left, forward Kelvin Bacon was the only Bullpup open for an inbounds pass and his long, off-balance shot bounced away.

“They didn’t give us anything easy,” Prep coach Mike Haugen said. “Every possession was hard. They didn’t let down, they made us work possession after possession.”

Weisner, who coached Brewster to state titles in 1984 and ‘85, might not agree about every possession, but he and the Highlanders are still learning the zone defense.

“I don’t think we played real well defensively.” he said. “I don’t know how to fix (the zone defense). I’m a coach who never played this type of defense before.”

Mostly the Highlanders are in 2-3 or 3-2, though in the second half they switched to a four-man zone with Charlie Howlett staying on Johnson.

McGinn was blanked in the Highlanders’ last win over North Central and was held to four free throws in the first half. Then he poured in 18 in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter.

“I felt relaxed, in a groove,” he said.

Shadle Park 55, G-Prep 54

Gonzaga Prep 17 12 15 10 - 54

Shadle Park 15 13 13 14 - 55

Gonzaga Prep (12-3, 10-3) - Johnson 4 0-1 10, Ryan 1 0-1 2, McIntyre 3 2-2 9, Bloom 3 0-0 8, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Frankovic 5 1-1 11, Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Bacon 5 2-2 12, Freuen 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-7 54.

Shadle Park (8-7, 7-6) - Howlett 1 5-5 8, Scott 3 0-1 7, Bishop 0 0-0 0, K. Johnson 0 0-2 0, McGinn 6 8-10 22, Gabriel 0 2-2 2, J. Johnson 4 2-3 10, Singleton 3 0-0 6. Totals 17 17-23 55.

3-point goals - Johnson 2, McIntyre, Bloom 2, Howlett, Scott, McGinn 2. Total fouls - Gonzaga Prep 17, Shadle Park 10. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

CV 63, LC 48

The second-ranked Bears opened a 20-point lead in the third quarter and LC cut it to 10 with 4 minutes to go, consecutive 3s put visiting CV back in command.

Kyle Boast led the way with 18 points on four 3-pointers.

Central Valley 22 14 15 12 - 63

Lewis and Clark 11 12 12 13 - 48

Central Valley (15-0, 13-0) - Eigenhuis 0 2-4 2, D. Boast 1 0-0 2, Priebe 2 0-0 5, K. Boast 6 2-3 18, Gosney 0 0-0 0, Hebden 3 2-2 10, Libey 5 0-0 10, Depew 6 2-3 14, Kreiger 0 2-4 2. Totals 23 10-16 63.

Lewis and Clark (9-5, 8-5) - Hook 0 4-4 4, Defour 2 2-2 6, Coleman 2 3-5 7, Avery 1 4-4 7, Etter 0 1-3 1, Floyd 0 0-0 0, Kuhlmann 5 2-2 12, Black 2 1-1 5, Spurgetis 3 0-0 6. Totals 15 17-21 48.

3-point goals - Priebe, K. Boast 4, Hebden 2, Avery. Total fouls - Central Valley 22, Lewis and Clark 17. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Ferris 58, Rogers 46

The Saxons raced to a 14-2 lead to open the game and didn’t go cold - even when the lights went out for 10 minutes - to turn back the visiting Pirates.

Brad Hodl, coming back from an injury, had 10 points and seven assists. Andre Adkins had 13 points and three steals.

Rogers 6 14 10 16 - 46

Ferris 16 17 10 15 - 58

Rogers (8-7, 7-6) - Hooper 1 0-0 3, Bedford 7 3-4 17, Wallen 0 0-0 0, Dempsey 2 4-5 8, Pugh 4 4-4 12, Oglesbee 1 0-1 2 Rother 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 13-16 46.

Ferris (13-2, 11-2) - Biggerstaff 3 2-2 10, Benzel 1 0-0 2, Bursch 0 0-0 0, Atkins 6 1-1 13, Fike 0 0-0 0, Watts 5 3-4 13, Hodl 3 3-5 10, Mietus 3 0-0 6, Williams 1 2-3 4. Totals 22 11-15 58.

3-point goals - Roper, Biggerstaf 2 Hoddle1. Total fouls - Rogers 15, Ferris 14. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

NC 38, Mt. Spokane 34

Jake Martyn made two free throws with 8 seconds left to seal the Indians’ home win.

Mt. Spokane 3 15 9 7 - 34

North Central 15 10 4 9 - 38

Mt. Spokane (2-13, 1-12) - Adams 1 0-0 2, Gordon 2 0-0 4, Franklin 0 0-0 0, Swanson 1 0-0 2, Young 0 0-0 0, Clark 4 0-0 8, Tabisz 4 5-10 13, Vessey 1 0-2 2, Ferguson 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 3-4 3. Totals 13 8-16 34.

North Central (3-12, 3-10) - Moffitt 0 0-0 0, Peterson 3 0-0 6, Allen 3 0-0 7, Lattin 2 0-0 4, Johnson 2 2-3 6, Lamanna 0 0-0 0, Martyn 3 2-2 10, Smith 2 1-2 5, Totals 15 5-7 38.

3-point goals - Martyn 2, Allen. Total fouls - Mt. Spokane 14, North Central 15. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

University 50, Mead 32

Karson Neal had a career-high 13 points and the Titans had an 18-3 advantage in the second quarter to defeat the Panthers at Mead.

University 8 18 10 14 - 50

Mead 12 3 7 10 - 32

University (4-11, 4-9) - Gazaway 2 0-1 5, Davidow 0 0-0 0, Benefield 2 6-6 12, Burningham 0 0-0 0, Moore 2 2-2 8, Roberts 3 0-0 7, Renz 0 3-4 3, Spear 0 2-4 2, Kaiser 0 0-0 0, Neal 4 5-5 13. Totals 13 18-22 50.

Mead (1-14, 1-12) - Stallings 0 1-2 1, Zelinski 2 0-0 4, Stucky 1 1-2 4, Hatem 0 0-0 0, McNaghten 3 0- 1 6, Schafer 0 0-1 0, Degenhart 2 0-0 4, Cwik 2 1-1 5, Strasburg 0 0-0 0, Zeller 3 0- 0 6, Thigpen 1 0-1 2. Totals 14 3-8 32.

3-point goals - Gazaway, Bennefield 2, Moore 2, Roberts, Stucky. Total fouls - University 15, Mead 20. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.