Crusaders stun Broncos in title game

To most, it may have seemed like an exercise in ugliness, but the District 7 B boys championship game between Lind-Ritzville and Northwest Christian was a product of familiarity and the intensity of playoff basketball.

NWC (23-3) held up to beat the cold-shooting Broncos 42-27 at Mt. Spokane, the Crusaders’ first win in four tries against L-R (24-2) this year.

“We just wanted it more,” NWC junior post Karl Richardson said. “It’s just been mental. We couldn’t get over it.”

Richardson was a big part of the Crusaders’ success, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

“He’s played well against us each time,” L-R head coach Dwight Pflugrath said. “He’s the most improved player we’ve seen from last year to this year.”

At 6-foot-3, Richardson was the anchor of a 2-3 zone which L-R struggled against, shooting 10 of 28 (36 percent) from the field. Richardson also helped limit the touches of counterpart Jake Kragt, who scored only five points, while managing just two shots from the field.

“We tried to double Kragt in the key,” NWC head coach Ray Ricks said. “We also had to hope that (Cameron) Stevenson wasn’t hitting, and he wasn’t. Karl’s quickness was a big factor in the post.”

“Coach told me I needed to battle,” Richardson said. “Their big guy is good.”

Stevenson, a junior wing, hit 3 of 8 shots for eight points, eight less than his average of 16 per game.

Sophomore Joe Grewe added 10 points for NWC, and Crusaders point guard Jesse Vowels had six assists.

NWC had an 11-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Broncos had one last run in them. James Saetre hit consecutive jumpers, and Nick Ashley sank two free throws to cut the lead to 31-26 with 5:20 remaining.

Jared McConahy found Richardson for an easy basket on the next possession, and the Crusaders hit 7 of 10 free throws down the stretch to put away the win.

L-R had beaten the Crusaders twice during the regular season and 61-45 eight days ago in the Bi-County championship.

This time around, they ran into an NWC team seeming to peak at the right time after beating top-ranked Republic on Wednesday, and finally solving the Broncos.

“I think it started in the second half of the Wellpinit game (an 87-64 win on Monday),” Grewe said. “We started playing with our hearts and as a team.”

NWC finished second at state on the 1A level last year, and returned Vowels, senior Josh Greer and Richardson.

L-R will head into the state tournament, beginning Wednesday at the Spokane Arena, hoping to bounce back from one of its worst performances in a two-loss season.

Republic 76, Selkirk 40

Junior Zach Gianukakis had 30 points to lead the Tigers (25-2) to a third-place finish with a 36-point win at Mt. Spokane.

Gianukakis hit 9 of 13 shots from the field, including 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point.

Senior post Gaeb Giddings had 12 points for Republic, which blew open the game with a 21-5 second-quarter advantage.

Junior guard Matt Reed led the Rangers (17-10) with 10 points.

Selkirk is making consecutive trips to the state tournament after breaking a 31-year jinx last season.