Back From The Brink Ferris Rallies From 19 Points Down

If Wayne Gilman calls it the greatest comeback he can remember, you can bet the game he was talking about was pretty amazing.

Gilman has been coaching boys basketball for 30 years, 16 years at Ferris. He remembers a 1988 state tournament game against Marysville-Pilchuck when the Saxons rallied from 19 points down in the second quarter to win in overtime.

That pales in comparison with Tuesday night’s barnburner with Walla Walla in the opening round of the Eastern 4A regional tournament at Gonzaga University.

In a rematch of last year’s state championship game, the Saxons rallied from 19 down with 2:21 to go in the third quarter to win 47-45 on Erik Benzel’s 10-foot bank shot from the lane with 3.9 seconds to play.

“I actually don’t remember anything to equal this is my career,” Gilman said. “I didn’t see any way that could happen.”

“I’m still shaking,” said Benzel, who was trying to untie his shoes before explaining the final shot. “It was, `Try to get a foul and hope something good happens.”’

The fourth-ranked Saxons’ shocking comeback salvaged the day for the Greater Spokane League, which dropped three of four games to the Big Nine.

GSL regular-season champion Gonzaga Prep fell under Kamiakin’s barrage of 3-pointers 70-62 at Eastern Washington University. Shadle Park lost to second-ranked Davis, the Big Nine champion, 74-67 at the Yakima Sun Dome. In the first game in Yakima, Eisenhower blitzed East Valley 62-47.

The regional resumes in the Tri-Cities on Friday.

Ferris 47, Walla Walla 45

This game started like last year’s state championship game when the Blue Devils led the Saxons 26-7 in the first half. Tuesday, Ferris missed its first 10 shots, falling behind 9-0 and trailing 16-5 after one quarter. It got worse as the Saxons trailed 34-17 at the half.

“It was a combination,” Benzel said.

“They didn’t miss, and we couldn’t buy a basket.”

The Blue Devils hit 14 of 18 shots, including 5 of 6 3-pointers with Pat McConn pumping in 15 points. They had nine assists, six by Bryan Erlebach, and Ferris none on its seven baskets. The Saxons shot 7 of 29.

But unlike the state title game, which finished 55-39, the Saxons came back.

The press started early in the third quarter with Walla Walla up 40-25.

Ferris’ Sean Mallon, who matched McConn with 19 points, scored six straight to end the quarter, making it 44-31.

“I thought there was a chance,” Benzel said. “I’ve been in games like that.”

But Gilman wasn’t as optimistic. He knew he had to play guards Benzel and Jordan Bursch full-time in a press along with reserve guard Marcus Clift.

Bursch held Erlebach to one assist with seven turnovers in the second half. The key was Clift, who grabbed four rebounds, three on the offensive end and had three assists.

The Blue Devils maintained their patient offense in the fourth quarter but quit attacking the basket out of it. But the Saxons didn’t roar back until a Benzel drive, a Mallon drive and a Mallon fadeaway made it 45-40 with 3:24 to go.

“When it got within 10, I knew we had a chance,” Benzel said. “When we got within four, I knew we were going to win.”

The Blue Devils got a free throw from Thomas Kelati with 2:24 to go, making it 3 seconds short of an 8-minute drought, but Clift got an offensive putback at 1:47 and after a turnover Benzel buried a 3 from the left corner to tie it at 45 with 1:06 to play.

Kelati was fouled again but missed the free throw with 58 seconds to go and Ferris went for a final shot. As the clock dipped under 10 seconds, Mallon got the ball on the left wing and tried to make a move. Then he dished the ball to Benzel.

“I saw Erik cutting,” Mallon said.

“At first I thought he would get a wide-open layup. I’m glad he made it. Great shot.”

Walla Walla 16 18 10 1 - 45

Ferris 5 12 14 16 - 47

Walla Walla (15-9) - Erlebach 5 1-2 11, Day 0 0-0 0, Grimm 2 0-0 5, McConn 8 0-0 19, Kelati 2 0-0 5, Reese 1 0-0 2, Filan 1 1-1 3. Totals 19 2-3 45.

Ferris (20-3) - Lee 0 0-0 0, Benzel 7 0-0 17, Bursch 0 0-0 0, Clift 1 0-0 2, Mallon 9 1-1 19, Pounds 2 0-0 5, Kasen 0 0-0 0, Fike 1 1-2 4. Totals 20 2-3 47.

3-point goals - Grimm, McConn 3, Kelati, Benzel 3, Pounds, Fike. Total fouls - Walla Walla 10, Ferris 12. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

Kamiakin 70, Gonzaga Prep 62

The Braves made 8 of 11 3-pointers, five by 6-foot-3 forward Kevin Wyatt, to upend the fourth-ranked Bullpups.

Kamiakin led 48-41 entering the fourth quarter and made 13 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Four Bullpups scored in double figures, led by Greg Johnson’s 19, but leading scorer Chris Bond, who has been battling pneumonia, had just 11.

Kamiakin 13 22 13 22 - 70

Gonzaga Prep 11 15 15 21 - 62

Gonzaga Prep (20-3) - Johnson 19, Ryan 2, Arte 0, Bloom 11, Simpson 10, Frankovic 9, LeSage 0, Bond 11, Nickol 0, Maher 0, Cooney 0.

Kamiakin (17-7) - Patrick 18, Roloff 3, Parker 10, Bartlett 8, Bullock 14, Russell 0, Wyatt 17.

3-point goals - Parker, Bartlett 2, Wyatt 5, Johnson 3, Bloom 3, Simpson 2, Bond.

Davis 74, Gonzaga Prep 67

Demetrius Scott poured in 41 points, hitting nine 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough for the Highlanders as Taylor Stubblefield hit six 3s and scored 35 points for the Pirates.

Davis 21 19 15 19 - 74

Shadle Park 17 13 24 13 - 67

Davis (23-1) - Lafonte 1 0-0 2, Riggins 3 0-1 6, D. Collins 0 0-0 0, Bone 3 1-4 7, Nanamkin 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Arquette 0 3-4 3, Stubblefield 12 5-8 35, Sneed 0 0-0 0, Harris 0 0-0 0, J. Collins 0 0-0 0, Williams 7 7-15 21. Totals 26 16-33 74.

Shadle Park (17-7) - Bishop 0 0-0 0, Scott 16 0-0 41, Alexander 0 0-0 0, K. Johnson 0 0-0 0, Rowe 1 0-0 2, Pariseau 3 0-0 8, Weisner 2 1-2 6, McCracken 0 0-0 0, Gabriel 4 0-0 8, Doyle 0 2-2 2, J.J. Johnson 0 0-0 0, Henderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 3-4 67.

3-point goals - Stubblefield 6, Scott 9, Pariseau 2, Weisner. Total fouls - Davis 12, Shadle Park 21. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

Eisenhower 62, East Valley 37

The Cadets blitzed the Knights 31-8 in the third quarter to break open a close game. Ike held GSL scoring champ Andrew Burgess to five points.

East Valley 5 13 8 11 - 37

Eisenhower 9 13 31 9 - 62

East Valley (14-10) - Burgess 2 0-0 5, Lennick 0 0-0 0, Quirk 0 2-2 2, Brown 1 1-2 3, Haile 0 0-0 0, Hirst 0 0-0 0, Paul 5 0-0 12, Duncan 0 0-0 0, Horgan 2 0-0 4, Hansen 3 0-1 6, Mathison 2 1-1 5. Totals 15 4-6 37.

Eisenhower (16-7) - Kuhns 1 0-0 2, Searl 0 0-0 0, MacKeinzie 2 0-0 4, Cook 0 2-2 2, Curtman 4 3-3 11, Svendsen 3 0-0 6, Bremerman 6 0-0 13, Groth 0 0-0 0, Bushmaker 7 2-4 16, Parker 0 0-0 0, Carmody 1 4-4 7, Davidson 0 1-2 1. Totals 24 12-16 62.

3-point goals - Burgess, Paul 2, Bremerman, Carmody. Total fouls - East Valley 14, Eisenhower 12. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.