WV, NC boys off to state
There are times when discipline and basics trump athleticism in basketball.
But not Tuesday night when athletic West Valley and North Central both qualified for the State 3A boys basketball tourney.
For a time, visiting West Valley of Yakima (9-15) held the aces with its patience, but the Eagles (18-4) won 58-38 in their last home game in the WV gym.
“Never a dull moment,” said Eagles coach Jamie Nilles. “We keep it interesting until we figure it out a bit.”
NC (also 18-4) beat Hanford (18-5) in Richland 64-56 to earn the school’s first state basketball trip since 1951.
“I’m just ecstatic for the school,” said coach Jay Webber, “because it’s been a long time and the kids and parents have supported us so well throughout the year. It’s a wonderful reward for them and the players who’ve worked so hard for it.”
With the victory comes a fourth date with West Valley, 9 p.m. Friday, at Eastern Washington University for the regional championship.
Joining the pair at state are Clarkston’s girls. The Bantams (13-9) defeated West Valley-Yakima (15-8) 49-42 and play for state seeding against Hanford (19-4) at 7 p.m. Friday at EWU.
Hanford defeated East Valley 65-52. The Knights (9-14) play at Cheney, 3:45 p.m. Friday, in a loser-out game against Sunnyside.
Cheney’s boys (8-15) remained alive with a 73-68 overtime victory at home against Selah. The Blackhawks play WV-Yakima 9 p.m. Friday, in a loser-out game
The Blackhawks girls (5-18) lost 66-44 to Prosser (16-8).
WV-Spokane 58, WV-Yakima 38: The Eagles twice led by nine points in the first half, and made it look easy while taking their initial 13-4 lead.
The Rams, however, trailed by only a point after a quarter on Brock Hancock’s near-halfcourt buzzer-beater that followed a pair of Eagles free-throw misses.
The score was just 26-25 with 6:30 left in the third quarter with the Yakima school winning rebounding position inside and staying patient in its offense.
Then the Eagles soared, going on a 21-5 run that included Greg Bradley’s reverse dunk off a Tyler Hobbs lob and spectacular high-flying board work by Maurice Swan, who had eight of his team-high 12 rebounds in the second half.
“The coaches don’t like it when we get beat on the boards in our gym,” said Swan. “I think we just underestimated them because they’re smaller than us.”
It also didn’t hurt that instead of relying on outside shooting – five 3-point baskets in the first half, three by Hobbs – that Hobbs went to work in the low post for 10 of his 22 points, and the Eagles went to a 2-2-1 zone defense.
“We had an opportunity to stretch the game out in the first half and let them back in,” said Nilles. “We showed a lot more poise in the second half.”
North Central 64, Hanford 56: Because of the deliberate style of Mid-Valley League teams, NC wanted to exploit its athleticism in an up-tempo game.
“We wanted to pick up the pace a bit,” said Webber. “We feel we’ve got the kids who can do that.”
The Indians, too, were stung by a halfcourt basket that cut a 47-40 lead to two points after three quarters.
But with Nick Rijon having a nine-rebound, four-steal, 12-point night and Eric Beal and Damal Neil combining for 26 points, the Indians pulled away in the fourth quarter. Beal made 6 of 8 free throws in the final period.
Cheney 73, Selah 68 (OT): The host Blackhawks scored all 11 overtime points from the free-throw line to prevail after blowing a nine-point halftime lead. Cheney’s Matt Brunell scored a season-high 28 and Jess Donnerberg scored 20 for the second time in as many games to dominate the game.
Girls
Clarkston 49, WV-Yakima 42: The Bantams trailed the visiting Rams by 15 points at one point.
But when their four-pronged offensive attack kicked in during the third quarter, they went on a 27-4 tear to lock up their second state trip in three years.
Misty Atkinson scored 15 points and had seven rebounds for Clarkston.
Hanford 65, East Valley 52: The visiting Knights had rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to build a four-point lead after three quarters.
But the Falcons converted six consecutive turnovers into points as Hanford outscored EV 29-12 in the final quarter to earn the region’s second state berth.
EV’s Kylee Williamson scored 14 points and Miranda Rippee had 10.
Prosser 66, Cheney 44: Mustangs sophomore point guard Jordan Brown scored 27 points, 15 of them in the second quarter to spur the victory.
District 7 2A
Adam Anderson racked up 15 points, six steals and five rebounds, and No. 4 Riverside withstood a 10-point fourth-quarter rally to edge visiting Medical Lake 44-41. The Rams (13-8) will visit top-seeded Pullman on Friday. … Casey Christian had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Chewelah got past visiting Deer Park 49-43. Cameron Stroyan added 12 points for the third-seeded Cougars (11-10), who visit No. 2-seed Lakeside on Friday. Kevin McNeil hit five 3s, including four in the first quarter, and scored 20 points for the Stags (8-13).
District 7 1A
Michael Wittwer made 1 of 2 free throws in the final seconds of overtime to push Freeman to a 44-43 win over Kettle Falls in a loser-out game at Mt. Spokane. Wittwer notched 12 points, and Luke Heinen added 10 for the Scotties (13-10), who outrebounded KF 31-21. The Scotties will face the loser of Friday’s Lake Roosevelt/Brewster game, on Saturday in Brewster for a trip to state.
GirlsDistrict 7 2A
Laura Gibson hit two free throws with 6 seconds left in overtime to seal a 64-63 upset win for sixth-seeded Deer Park over third-seeded Chewelah in a loser-out, first-round game. Gibson finished with a game-high 23 points for the Stags (10-11). Jochelle Schatz scored 17 and Bryn Smith added 14 for the Cougars (14-7). Deer Park will visit second-seeded Pullman on Saturday.
District 7 1A
Lauren Mellor scored 17 points to lead three Colfax players in double figures in a 68-31 rout of Newport (6-17) at Mt. Spokane. Meagan Teade added 15 points and Jordan Harazin chipped in 10 for the Bulldogs (19-4). Colfax will face the loser of Friday’s Lake Roosevelt/Liberty Bell winner on Saturday in Brewster with a trip to state at stake.