Wv Eagles Head Into Big Hoops Series
West Valley is taking its boys basketball show on the road once more, and with higher stakes.
On Friday, the Eagles will be in Clarkston and next Tuesday in Cheney for the first two of six Border League games against Washington foes.
By the time WV takes a break after next Tuesday’s game, the Eagles will have played three straight games and five of their last six in opponent’s gyms.
“If we come out of it with a good mark, we’ll be in good shape,” said coach Jamie Nilles.
The Eagles, 3-1 in league and winners of their first four games, lost for the first time Tuesday night to Lake City.
It was WV’s fifth game in 12 days.
So far, the team has shown little change from last year when it won the championship with a 16-2 record.
“We’ve been game planning and the kids are following it really well,” said Nilles. “I think we’ve been playing good defense, but we’re not shooting as well as we’re capable.”
WV has survived the officiating emphasis on less physical play resulting in more fouls, with help from its reserves.
“Kids coming off the bench are holding down the fort,” said Nilles. “Each time it’s been a little different.”
Ten different players had scored in WV’s first four wins, led as expected by Lance Pecht’s 20.2 average.
He is one of five players to have scored in double figures in at least one of WV’s games, with outings of 26, 28 and 24.
Luke Gordon is averaging 11.5 per game, Kyle Gazaway had a huge effort with 18 points and sterling defense against Sandpoint and B.J. Harris had 11 points, including nine in a row, against Post Falls.
Point guard Craig McIntyre has played the roll of iron man.
“McIntyre’s played a lot of minutes,” said Nilles. “I don’t think he came out of the Post Falls game and very little against Moscow.”
Now the ante gets upped in WV’s road games against Clarkston and Cheney.
Washington schools currently hold down four of the top five spots in league, led by the Eagles and unbeaten Colville and followed by once-beaten Clarkston and the twice-beaten Cheney Blackhawks.
“This week will be big,” said Nilles. “I told the kids to lay it on the line through Dec. 19. We’ll know things about ourselves, get into Christmas and go from there.”
GSL boys teams continue to struggle
Central Valley’s young basketball team has shown promise, but like its Valley counterparts, has continued to struggle in the Greater Spokane League.
The Bears, University and East Valley had but a single win among them entering Tuesday night’s competition.
Bears sophomore Derek Taylor and Chris Rodgers are averaging 18 and 12 points a game respectively.
EV is still seeking scoring punch, with only Chad Mathison at 10.3 points per game averaging more than 9 a game for the Knights.
Three Titans, Matt Thompson, Brandon Johnson and Keith Christensen are leading U-Hi in scoring with averages between 9.0 and 9.5 per game.
Smaller schools soar
Freeman and Valley Christian boys continue to succeed.
Despite losing by five points to 2A state veteran Chewelah, coached by former West Valley mentor Joe Feist, the Scotties are 5-1 after Tuesday’s win at Riverside, led by Jeff Hyndman and Tanner Townsend with 13.8 scoring averages each. Hyndman had 26 points to lead victory Saturday over Medical Lake.
Valley Christian opened the BiCounty League season with a pair of victories, over Sprague-Harrington and Wilbur-Creston. Joel Knigge scored 23 points in the former and Brent Decker with 27 in the latter.
Mr. Inside is still Mr. Outside, Decker hitting from 3-point range as well as in the paint and is averaging 21.5 points for the 3-1 Panthers. Matt Barreiro is scoring at an 11.5 clip, including 19 against Sprague.