Eagles rise to occasion

On a Friday night when North Central and West Valley played as if they were in a hurry to be somewhere else, several WV players provided a calming effect late and they pulled ahead to win the boys Region 3A championship at Eastern Washington University.

The Eagles won 68-60 in the fourth meeting of the year between two state-bound 3A teams. WV’s two playoff victories, district and regional, tied the season series at two games apiece.

“Rocky IV, Halloween IV, Police Academy IV, they’re all great sequels,” said coach Jamie Nilles. “This is WV-NC IV.”

The game had all the elements of the aforementioned movies, the two teams sparring, slashing and providing a comedy element, as well, by converting turnovers faster than points during a frenetic first half.

The Eagles (19-4) blew out to a 16-5 lead before NC (18-5) tore off 17 of the next 20 points.

With all the frenzy and flubs, what they got for their haste was foul trouble and a 27-25 Indians’ lead at half.

NC’s biggest lead in the second-half, 39-34, came with 12 minutes left in the game.

Then, the fast-paced game ultimately took its toll on NC in the game’s final quarter.

The Eagles got contributions from most of their big guns, including Greg Bradley, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, as WV rallied to take a 55-46 lead.

E.J. Richardson, who finished with 20 points and Tyler Hobbs, with 15 before fouling out, came up big inside.

Point guard Arton Toussaint, who had a miserable time of it during much of the up-tempo game, settled into his floor-leader role.

“I thought Arton was off his game, but then he made huge contributions,” said Nilles.

So, too did Bradley, who had not done much on offense late in the season.

“Sometimes when you come out good at the beginning they scout and you’re not able to get open as easily,” Bradley said. “I was trying to make big plays. They’re good if they go in, dumb if they miss. Luckily they went in.”

The State 3A tournament in Tacoma begins Wednesday. Both teams learn their draws on Sunday. They’ll be joined by Clarkston’s girls, who lost 56-52 in their regional final with Hanford.

WV-Yakima 47, Cheney 45 (loser out): The Blackhawks (8-16) rallied from a first-half deficit only to have their season ended when Kirk Meyer’s shot at the buzzer missed.

Cheney had fallen behind the Rams (10-15) by seven points on the long-range shooting of freshman Matt Borton, but stormed back in the second quarter for a half time tie.

But WV pulled out the win in the final period and plays Ellensburg, which eliminated Hanford 55-47, today at 2:45 p.m. in Cheney for the region’s third berth to state.

Girls

Hanford 56, Clarkston 52 (both to state): Despite a yeoman performance by Bantams junior Misty Atkinson, and superb free-throw shooting, the Bantams were frigid from the field in the second half and fared poorly compared to the Falcon’s long-range barrage.

Atkinson scored 28 points, had Clarkston’s three second-half field goals and all but six points of Clarkston’s second-half 24.

But Hanford 3-pointers wiped out a 10-point Bantams lead in the last 2 minutes of the first half and then put the Falcons in charge as the third quarter ended and fourth quarter began.

Clarkston led 26-16 when Kayla Akers made two 3-pointers that cut the first-half lead to two points.

The teams stayed close until reserve Adrienne Johnson scored eight points in just less than a minute.

Her second 3-pointer put Hanford ahead 42-37 early in the fourth quarter.

“We were telling the kids to be aggressive on offense and also shoot the 3,” said Hanford coach Evan Woodward. “Adrienne did a nice job off the bench shooting for us when we needed it.”

When the Bantams rallied, primarily at the free-throw line where they shot 26 for 32, it was Nikki DePeel whose free-throw shooting held them at bay and left Atkinson in tears.

DePeel was 7 for 15 from the field, hit 13 of 14 free throws.

“I don’t know what happened,” Atkinson said. “I honestly think we’re the better team. I know we’re the better team. We couldn’t get good shots and they put more in the hoop.”

Ellensburg 56, East Valley 50 (loser out): As coach Freddie Rehkow feared, the Knights had no answer for the Bulldogs’ 6-3 junior post Kayla Standish. She scored 33 points and hit a fourth-quarter 3-pointer that ended EV’s season. Ellensburg (17-8) plays WV-Yakima/Prosser for the region’s third state berth.

The Knights (9-15) rallied from a 29-23 halftime deficit and turned it into a back-and-forth game. Eleaya Schuerch scored 14 to lead EV.