Brown ignites Shadle victory
A new year brought new expectations for Shadle Park’s Anthony Brown.
More may be on the way.
The Highlanders sophomore scored 16 points Tuesday night to pace Shadle’s 56-42 season-opening victory at home over Central Valley in a matchup of two Greater Spokane League programs expected to contend for league honors.
Brown didn’t finish as Shadle’s leading scorer – that honor fell to Zack Humphrey with 19 points – but the 6-foot-4 sophomore provided the early spark that helped the Highlanders seize control. Shadle led 26-18 at halftime, thanks in large part to Brown’s 11 points in the first two quarters.
“He started all last year, so he’s not really young,” Highlanders coach Tim Gaebe said. “By age he is, but by experience he got a lot of minutes last year. … He’s come of age. He’s filled out a little bit and is a lot more aggressive.”
Brown said he’s trying to implement this year what he learned last season.
“This year I need to step up and help the team as much as I can,” he said.
Brown and Humphrey took turns knocking down clutch shots to thwart the Bears’ attempts to climb into contention. Humphrey scored 12 of his points in the second half.
Central Valley’s William Davis buried a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within 42-36 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game, but Humphrey responded with a 3-pointer on the Highlanders’ subsequent trip down the floor to push the lead back to nine.
“We ran more sets for (Humphrey) in the second half,” Gaebe said. “We didn’t get him enough shots in the second quarter.”
The Bears struggled from the floor in the opening quarter, enduring a 5 1/2-minute span without a field goal as Shadle Park built a 17-7 lead after the first 8 minutes.
CV held the Highlanders without a field goal for almost 4 minutes early in the second quarter, but the Bears scored only two points during that stretch.
CV junior Nick Ambrose tossed in a team-high 14 points, and Davis added 10.
Ferris 62, Mead 51: The Saxons led by as many as 15 points in the first half, 35-20 on a pair of Jeff Minnerly 3-pointers. They weren’t challenged thereafter.
Ferris made 26 of 35 from the free-throw line. Included were eight fourth-quarter free throws, Erick Cheadle hitting all four of his during that span.
Three Ferris players finished in double figures, led by Shawn Stockton with 18 points.
In his Ferris varsity debut, 6-foot-8 DeAngelo Casto added 12 points and six blocked shots.
Mead used its roster, had two players in double figures and Kyle Baird kept the team close in the second quarter.
Rogers 57, Gonzaga Prep 52: Behind Scotty Livengood’s career-high 32 points, a Pirates team with high expectations beat the shorthanded Bullpups at Shaw Middle School.
Rogers trailed by four points after a quarter, but rallied with a 17-7 burst in the second period and increased its lead to 48-37 after three quarters.
G-Prep was without six players because of the late football season. Beau Azadganian led the visitors with 14 points.
Mt. Spokane 41, Lewis and Clark 36: Trailing the Tigers after three quarters at LC, the Wildcats finished with a 13-2 fourth-quarter flourish.
Junior Jordan Poynor led all scorers with a dozen points, the only player on either team to finish in double figures.
North Central 64, University 55: Last year’s fifth-place State 3A finisher took up where it left off. Led by the outside shooting of junior Nick Rijon and 6-7 Justin Anderson’s 16 points and six rebounds inside, the Indians parlayed a hot start into victory.
Rijon hit all five of his first-half 3-point attempts and finished with 19 points. NC jumped to a 20-8 first-quarter lead.
Another veteran of last year’s state trophy winners, Javier Grigsby, added 13 points.
U-Hi sophomore Mason Johnson scored 24 in his first game on varsity.