Benzel Shoots Ferris Past Bears

GSL boys basketball

Maybe its was just a first-half flu.

Erik Benzel scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, including a back-breaking steal and layup at the third quarter buzzer, to lead Ferris to a 60-44 victory at Central Valley Tuesday night.

“Once I started scoring and getting some steals, (the flu) started to go away,” Benzel said. “When I hit the first shot (of the second half), I had a lot of confidence.”

It was the toughest game for the Greater Spokane League co-leaders, who only led 40-36 entering the fourth quarter. Then CV went cold, hitting just 3 of 16 shots.

“The big play was the end of the third quarter,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “We were playing for a last shot, down two, and they get the turnover and hit the layin at the buzzer. That kind of took the wind out of our sails.”

Sean Mallon had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Ferris, but it wasn’t until Benzel got untracked that the Saxons could shake the Bears.

“The key to getting some separation was getting some turnovers,” Ferris coach Wayne Gilman said. Even after Benzel hit his second 3-pointer of the third quarter for a 36-28 lead, CV came back, getting six straight from Kyle Boast, Cam Walls and a Boast feed to Walls.

Finally, after Benzel’s steal, Ferris opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run, helped by three CV turnovers and seven missed shots.

“It was not a very pretty performance,” Gilman said. “A lot of turnovers (22). We were a little impatient trying to execute the offense. We were putting the ball on the floor instead of moving it around.”

Benzel hit all five of his second-half shots, helping Ferris make 12 of 19. The Saxons finished 22 of 41, while CV was 19 of 65.

Boast had 15 points and Walls 13 but they were a combined 11 of 39.

“They’re good,” Benzel said. “It was good. We’ve got a couple of tough games coming up. We’ve got to get ready for those.”

Ferris 60, Central Valley 44

Ferris 11 17 12 20 - 60

Central Valley 10 13 13 8 - 44

Ferris (8-0) - Lee 1 0-1 2, Benzel 6 1-2 15, Bursch 3 0-0 8, Clift 2 0-1 4, Mallon 7 8-13 22, Pounds 1 0-0 3, Kasen 0 0-0 0, Fike 2 1-2 6. Totals 22 10-19 60.

Central Valley (5-3) - Liepman 1 0-0 2, Rodgers 1 0-0 2, Nylund 4 0-0 8, Boast 6 2-2 15, Mosby 1 0-2 2, Filice 1 0-0 2, Walls 5 2-3 13. Totals 19 4-7 44.

3-point goals - Benzel 2, Bursch 2, Pounds, Fike, Boast, Walls. Total fouls - Ferris 7, CV 16. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

G-Prep 68, Lewis and Clark 54

The visiting Tigers got off to a quick start, scoring the first eight points, but Chris Bond led the Bullpups back.

Bond scored 22 points, hitting 7 of 8 shots in the second half.

Jonathan Hook had 16 points and Tyler Black added a career-high 15 for LC.

Lewis and Clark 14 15 10 15 - 54

Gonzaga Prep 10 24 21 13 - 68

Lewis and Clark (5-3) - Morgan 0 0-0 0, Hook 7 0-0 16, Erik Coleman 2 2-2 6, Erin Coleman 0 0-0 0, Etter 1 2-2 4, Fry 0 0-0 0, Hurd 0 0-0 0, Domit 2 2-2 6, Black 5 5-5 15, Johnson 2 0-1 4, Nelson 1 1-1 3. Totals 20 12-13 54.

Gonzaga Prep (8-0) - Johnson 4 1-3 9, Ryan 1 2-3 4, Arte 0 0-0 0, Bloom 5 1-2 12, Simpson 4 1-1 11, Frankovic 2 0-0 4, LeSage 0 0-0 0, Bond 9 4-5 22, Nickol 2 2-2 6, Maher 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 11-16 68.

3-point goals - Hook 2, Bloom, Simpson 2. Total fouls - Lewis and Clark 17, Gonzaga Prep 16. Fouled out - Etter, Black. Technicals - None.

Shadle Park 88, Rogers 60

Steve Gabriel scored the first seven points of the game and led five players in double figures as the Highlanders defeated the visiting Pirates.

Demetrius Scott also had 17 for Shadle, which shot 67 percent in posting a season-high point total. Gabriel had 10 in the first quarter as the Highlanders raced to a 27-15 lead.

Justin Vaughan had 12 of his career-high 20 points in the third quarter for Rogers.

Rogers 15 13 18 14 - 60

Shadle Park 27 21 12 18 - 88

Rogers (0-8) - Worley 1 0-0 3, Baker 1 0-0 2, Wallen 4 4-4 12, Mullerleile 3 0-0 6, Bogle 2 0-0 4, Olson 0 0-0 0, Perez 1 1-2 4, Bowerman 0 0-0 0, Vaughan 9 2-4 20, Berend 2 0-0 6, Reed 1 1-3 3. Totals 24 8-13 60.

Shadle Park (5-3) - Bishop 0 0-0 0, Scott 7 0-0 17, K. Johnson 4 0-1 12, Rowe 5 2-2 12, Pariseau 4 2-2 12, Weisner 2 0-0 4, McCracken 3 0-0 6, Bell 0 0-0 0, Gabriel 8 1-3 17, Doyle 2 0-0 4, J.J. Johnson 2 0-0 4, Henderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 37 5-8 88.

3-point goals - Worley, Perez, Berend 2, Scott 3, K. Johnson 4, Pariseau 2. Total fouls - Rogers 14, Shadle Park 11. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

University 53, Mt. Spokane 50

Brandon Benefield had 12 points and four assists for the Titans, and the visiting Wildcats missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.

Karson Neal had 16 points, 11 in the second half, and grabbed 12 rebounds for U-Hi.

Matt Tabisz made 11 of 16 shots, including 7 of 9 in the second half, to score 24 points for Mt. Spokane. The Wildcats only made 3 of 11 free throws.

Mt. Spokane 9 11 15 15 - 50

University 13 12 14 14 - 53

Mt. Spokane (3-5) - Lessig 1 3-5 5, Swanson 2 0-0 4, Hornstein 1 0-0 3, Franklin 0 0-2 0, Pederson 0 0-0 0, Tabisz 11 0-2 24, Meyer 0 0-0 0, Vessey 7 0-2 14, Proett 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 3-11 50.

University (3-6) - J. Bright 0 0-0 0, Christiansen 2 0-0 5, Benefield 4 4-7 12, Ellersick 0 0-0 0, Moore 4 0-0 11, D. Bright 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Grondel 0 0-0 0, Florence 0 0-0 0, Weaver 0 0-0 0, Neal 6 4-6 16, Thompson 1 4-5 6, Madsen 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 13-20 53.

3-point goals - Hornstein, Tabisz 2, Moore 3, Christiansen. Total fouls - Mt. Spokane 20, University 14. Fouled out - Vessey. Technicals - None.

East Valley 52, Mead 46

The visiting Knights hit 7 of 15 shots in the third quarter while the Panthers were 2 of 16.

Eric Willliams had eight rebounds for Mead, which made just 15 of 62 shots.

East Valley 16 5 19 12 - 52

Mead 12 9 6 19 - 46

East Valley (4-4) - Burgess 4 3-5 12, Lennick 0 0-0 0, Quirk 2 1-2 5, Brown 2 1-3 7, Paul 3 0-0 7, Duncan 1 0-0 3, Horgan 5 2-4 12, Hansen 2 0-0 4, Mathison 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 7-14 52.

Mead (2-7) - Stallings 0 0-0 0, Zelinski 2 2-2 8, Stucky 0 0-0 0, Dvorak 2 2-2 6, McNaghten 4 2-2 11, Leaf 3 0-0 8, Cwik 0 0-0 0, Williams 2 1-4 5, Fischer 2 4-4 8. Totals 15 11-14 46.

3-point goals - Burgess, Brown 2, Paul, Duncan, Zelinski 2, McNaghten, Leaf 2. Total fouls - East Valley 13, Mead 17. Fouled out - Quirk. Technicals - Quirk.