GSL earns split decision
Last year in the first round of the 4A regional, the Greater Spokane League boys teams came up empty against the Big Nine Conference.
Tuesday night at University High, the two top GSL seeds, Ferris and Gonzaga Prep, made sure history didn’t repeat, though neither had it easy.
In the first game, the second-seeded Bullpups hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Davis, 61-56. In the nightcap, the Saxons built a 16-point lead at the end of the third quarter, then survived a sloppy fourth to top Richland, 69-57.
The traveling teams, University and Shadle Park didn’t fare as well, with the Titans falling at Pasco, 64-49, and the Highlanders rallying late but finally succumbing to Big Nine top seed Eisenhower, 64-52.
G-Prep (17-8) will face the Cadets (21-3) at 7 p.m. Friday in one winner-to-state game at Gonzaga University’s McCarthey Center, with Ferris (20-3) meeting Pasco (18-4) in the nightcap at 9. In loser-out games at Martin Centre, U-Hi (17-7) will face Richland (14-10) at 7, and Shadle (10-14) will meet Davis (18-6) at 9.
Gonzaga Prep 61, Davis 56
The Pups wanted a slow game and they got it, until the final quarter. They used their size advantage to attack inside early, the outside shooting of Michael Johnson to get separation in the third quarter and then hit 11 of 16 fourth-quarter free throws to blunt a Pirates’ rally led by Humberto Perez.
In all of those, 6-foot-3 senior post Ryan Murphy played a part.
“We knew we could get the ball inside whenever we wanted, we saw it on film,” said Murphy, who finished with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. “And then, if they wanted to double down low, we could kick it out to our shooters.”
Murphy and inside mates K.C. Anderson (four first-quarter points), Ian Parry (12 points, including seven at the half) and Jake Sayman took turns feeding each other as Prep opened a 27-21 halftime lead. Then, as the Pirates became more inside conscious in the third, Johnson hit three 3-pointers, part of his 13 points.
But Davis, which trailed by as much as 12 in the third, finally got Perez free from Travis Walker and Parry. Perez, a 6-1 forward who came in averaging more than 20 points a game, scored 14 of his game-high 24 in the fourth.
Every time the Pirates got within six points, however, either Brandon Kennedy or Murphy came up with a big play. Kennedy, a senior point guard, had a steal and then two drives to extend the lead to 10 with 4 minutes left, then Murphy hit 3 of 4 free throws (he finished 10 of 12 from the line) and keyed a fast break that got it back to 10 again with a minute left.
“Both of them have shown toughness and great leadership all year,” Prep coach Mike Haugen said of the pair. “Brandon has continued to improve all year and now he knows how to run a basketball game, which is the key to any team.”
Ferris 69, Richland 57
The Saxons built seven-, then 13-, then 18-point leads in the first, second and third quarters, respectively. Then they turned the ball over eight times, gave up 10 offensive rebounds and allowed 27 shots in the fourth quarter.
Still, they hit 11 of 15 fourth-quarter free throws, shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half and never allowed the Bombers closer than 10 down the stretch.
“We have to have more patience, like coach said, we were in too much of a hurry at the end,” said senior guard Jeremy Templeton, who finished with a game-high 18 points, including nine in the third quarter. “The turnovers almost killed us.”
“We played well in spurts,” Saxon coach Barry Olson said. “I think we had a lack of focus. Richland did a nice job of doing things that got us out of our rhythm and, if you’re not focused, you can lose it.”
One place the Saxons focused was at the free-throw line in a foul-marred game. Ferris hit 11 of 12 free throws in the second quarter and 23 of 31 on the night.
Jon Clift, who hit 9 of 10 free throws en route to 11 points, was the only other Saxon in double figures, though 10 of them scored. Three Bombers got to double digits, led by Brock Miller, a 6-5 forward who had 11 points and eight rebounds.
One place the Saxons didn’t focus, according to Olson and Templeton, was on defense, where the Saxons’ mixture of man-to-man and matchup zone still limited Richland to 30 percent shooting.
“We try to switch up our defenses and give them a different look,” Templeton said, “but we have to play better in both. We gave up too many easy shots.”
“They’re not satisfied because they know they have to play better, especially defensively,” Olson said of his team. “Our goal is not to be playing in regionals, it is to be playing next week (at state). We’ll have to step it up Friday.”
Pasco 64, University 49
Guards Jeff Middleton and Dean Colbray combined for 35 points as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half at Kamiakin High. The Titans, who led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, countered with the 18 points of 6-5 Calvin Jurich and 14 from Inderbir Gill.
Eisenhower 64, Shadle Park 52
The Highlanders couldn’t handle the size of the Big Nine champs, as the Cadets held a 33-21 rebounding edge and 6-8 senior center Brandon Johnson had a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds at Yakima’s SunDome.
Josh Powell paced Shadle with 10 points and five rebounds while Leo Avila added nine points. The Highlanders rallied in the fourth quarter with 22 points, but Ike hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold on.