Ferris, Mead win openers

At least one Greater Spokane League boys basketball team is assured a berth in the State 4A basketball tournament.

But it comes with a worst-case scenario after both the GSL and Columbia Basin League won twice, following Tuesday’s opening night of the 4A Eastern Regional boys basketball tourney.

Both league’s No. 1 and No. 3 seeds won meaning two GSL teams and two CBL will face each other in the semifinals.

Unbeaten Ferris rolled past visiting Moses Lake 73-40 and Mead won 66-53 in Wenatchee. The two will square off at 7 p.m. Friday in Kennewick’s Toyota Center in one of the two boys semifinals that will determine state berths.

That means that teams from each league must eliminate themselves in loser-out games before determining which gets to play the other’s for the region’s third state berth.

In the night’s other games, Pasco beat Shadle Park 61-57 in Pasco and Eisenhower topped Gonzaga Prep 56-49 at Eisenhower in Yakima.

The Highlanders and Bullpups also play at 7 p.m. Friday in the loser’s bracket, needing three wins to reach state.

Ferris 73, Moses Lake 40: DeAngelo Casto sat on the bench saddled with two first-half fouls and visiting Moses Lake was able to hang in against unbeaten Ferris.

But when Casto exerted his will on the Chiefs in the third quarter, the game got away from the visitors and the Saxons (23-0) raced to an overwhelming victory.

Ferris outscored Moses Lake (15-9) 20-2 in the first 5 minutes after halftime, turning a 29-19 advantage into a 29-point lead. Two minutes into the final period, the lead was 62-25 as the Saxons completed a 36-6 run.

Casto’s third-period artistry included seven rebounds, some of them as he flew to the basket seemingly from nowhere, 12 points, including a steal and length-of-the-floor layup, and a blocked shot that produced a fast-break basket.

“When I picked up two fouls I was kind of frustrated and wanted to come out strong,” Casto said. “I hate sitting on the bench and basically wanted to make a point.”

Point made. Casto finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

He was abetted in the Saxon third-quarter getaway by Erick Cheadle, who also had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He finished the game with 14 points.

The Saxons scored the first nine points of the game for a lead that was never challenged. Casto’s presence and the work of reserve Jeff Minnerly kept the team in front.

But the game degenerated into rat ball in the second period, with hurried attempts, turnovers and flying bodies. A 27-11 advantage melted back to the 10-point halftime lead.

Even Jared Karstetter, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds, failed to finish a bunch of racehorse drives.

“We were rushing a little bit,” said point guard Shawn Stockton in an understatement. “We always want to get out and run on teams early, but I think we just got going a little too fast today.”

The Saxons settled down in the second half, Casto settled in and the team brushed Moses Lake aside.

Mead 66, Wenatchee 53: Trailing 7-3, the Panthers (19-5) called a timeout then turned up the heat.

“We knew that Wenatchee (14-10) would come out like a house afire and they hit their first three shots,” said coach Glenn Williams. “We answered.”

It was Mead that ignited a blaze, going on a 22-11 tear for a lead they maintained throughout the remainder of the game.

Brendan Ingebritsen was the match in the first half with much of his 24-point offensive output.

Lucas Ashe, who found himself with three fouls early, had seven second-half rebounds for critical follows and putbacks that thwarted Wenatchee in its attempts to work back into the game. He finished with 15 points.

Thanks in part to Desmond Seay, Mead’s defense doused Wenatchee’s fire.

Williams said Seay was “phenomenal,” with his 18 deflections and three steals.

He also had seven assists. Tyler Mounce contributed eight points coming off the bench.

“We played very well,” said Williams.

Pasco 61, Shadle Park 57: The host Highlanders (16-7) went cold in the third quarter to negate a once-promising start.

Try as they might to catch up after trailing by nine points with 3 minutes left to play, the Bulldogs (17-6) wouldn’t cooperate.

Pasco made half its shots from the field and hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final period to pull out a victory after Shadle cut the lead to two points with a minute remaining.

The Highlanders had built a 19-14 first-quarter lead and led by four points at halftime. But they made just 2 of 10 field-goal tries and the Bulldogs outscored them 14-4 in the third quarter.

Nick Gaebe scored a career-high 19 points and Anthony Brown added 16. Shayne Kelly paced the Bulldogs with 19.

Eisenhower 56, G-Prep 49: The Bullpups (13-11) fell behind at the outset, trailing 22-18 at halftime.

But it was the third quarter that put G-Prep in a bind against the Cadets (17-7), and the Bullpups could not come closer than five points in the second half.

Ike improved its lead to 35-25 and the closest the Bullpups could come was within 54-49 late in the game.

Cadets senior Drew Harris scored 19 points and Mat Peterson had seven rebounds to go with his 13 points. They also had a 12-point scoring advantage at the foul line where the host team took 27 shots to the Bullpups’ 10.

Michael Stockton led G-Prep with 16 points and Michael Alexander had 10, but the Cadets were effective at neutralizing the inside game.