GSL boys complete regional sweep

Central Valley head boys basketball coach Rick Sloan smiled a little after the game, knowing that allowing 10 first-half 3-pointers is not a recommended defensive strategy during playoff basketball.

He could smile, though, because his Bears did it – and won.

CV rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat visiting Davis 70-64 in the first round of the ConAgra Foods/Lamb Weston 4A Regional tournament on a night when all four Greater Spokane League teams won.

“Well, we knew they were a good shooting team and a guard-oriented team,” Sloan said. “That’s pretty impressive. We just told them at halftime, we took their best shot and we’re still standing.”

Davis (14-11), the fourth seed out of the Big Nine, went on a 16-4 run to end the half, including a running 3-pointer by Tristan Cobane at the buzzer.

That capped a 10-for-13 first half from behind the arc, including four each by Cobane and Nico Sandoval, who combined for 29 points in the first half.

“They couldn’t miss, they hit everything they shot,” Bears junior point guard Kevin Cameron said. “We got a hand in their face and everything was falling. The second half, we just tried to limit their touches.”

Cobane went 2 for 5 in the second half and Sandoval, fighting foul trouble, hit only 1 of 3 shots – nine points between the two.

On the other end, CV (19-5) outscored the Pirates 24-8 in the third quarter, hitting 9 of 12 shots.

Cameron had eight in the quarter, including an NBA-range 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Nick Ambrose had seven.

Ambrose’s quarter-ending 3-pointer gave CV its first lead, 56-53, since halfway through the second quarter.

“I thought we settled, in the first half, for some quick perimeter shots,” Sloan said. “We talked at halftime about running our offense and getting the big guys more involved.”

Ambrose, a 6-foot-5 junior, finished with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting, Luke Clift had 14, Cameron had 13 and Brad Johnson finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Davis kept it close in the fourth quarter, pulling to within 66-64 with 28.1 seconds on Javaray Elmore’s layin.

After CV missed the front end of a one-and-one, Clift grabbed the offensive rebound and eventually Matt Morgan was fouled, and he sank both ends of a one-and-one with 18.1 seconds.

Davis turned the ball over and CV scored on the other end, sending the Bears into a winner-to-state matchup with Gonzaga Prep.

That game, along with the Mt. Spokane-Ferris winner-to-state game, will be played on Friday at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. CV-Prep will start at 7 p.m., Mt. Spokane-Ferris at 9.

Gonzaga Prep 52, Richland 49: Houston Stockton had 22 points, including 15 of the Bullpups’ 19 second-half points, leading them to a road win over the Bombers (16-8).

G-Prep (19-4) held Richland to two third-quarter points as they built a nine-point lead after three quarters, then hung on as the Bombers rallied in the fourth.

Sam Cartmell had 22 for Richland and Kyle Merkley added 16.

Mt. Spokane 52, Southridge 49: The Wildcats (14-10) were hot shooting the ball, hitting 59 percent and 7 of 13 3-pointers to beat the visiting Suns (18-6).

Matt Dorr had 18 for Mt. Spokane, including two free throws in the final minute to pad the Wildcats lead. Tim Selland scored 17 for Mt. Spokane, including three 3-pointers.

Ferris 68, Eisenhower 60: The Saxons (21-3) trailed by three points midway through the fourth quarter, but hit 15 of 15 free throws in the fourth to knock off the Cadets (21-3), the Big Nine’s top seed.

Jon Clift led Ferris with 21, one of four Saxons in double figures. Jace Mattinson scored 13, Caleb Rath had 12 and Brian Hallett added 10.

Ferris held Jack Loofburrow and Drew Harris, Eisenhower’s leading scorers who combined for 35.2 ppg this year, to 23.