Mannick’s 24 points spark Curlew to win

YAKIMA – It was going to take a gargantuan effort from Austin Mannick for Curlew to squeak out a victory Wednesday night.

The Cougars’ big man delivered with the highest scoring output of the State 1B boys basketball tournament’s first day.

Mannick scored a tournament-high 24 points and hauled down 12 rebounds, and Curlew escaped in overtime with a 59-56 overtime victory over Entiat at the SunDome.

The win advanced Curlew to the quarterfinals, where the Cougars (16-8) will face LaCrosse-Washtucna tonight at 9.

Mannick converted 12 of his 23 field-goal attempts, and he scored with a nifty right-handed hook to give Curlew the lead for good (57-56) in the extra session. Bernard Payne and Dillon Strandberg each made a free throw in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

“(Mannick) plays aggressively and rebounds like an animal, (but) he shoots with a soft touch,” Curlew coach Doug Grumbach said. “He’s a go-to man.”

Entiat turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 42-35 lead by the end of the third quarter, but Mannick scored eight of his points in the final 8 minutes to help Curlew knot the score at 55-all at the end of regulation.

The Tigers missed several easy attempts around the bucket throughout the game, but their defensive intensity gave them a chance to win.

“It’s not like they were going to lay down in overtime and not play,” Mannick said. “They were going to fight us for it, and they did. We got a few lucky breaks. They had some free throws and layups tonight but missed them. Tomorrow night, though, maybe it would have been different and they would have made them.”

Payne (12) and Strandberg (10) scored in double figures for Curlew.

Jeff Pittsinger scored 13 points for Entiat, and Jacob Anderson and Fredy Quezada added 12 apiece.

Entiat will play Mary Knight in a loser-out game today at 2 p.m.

LaCrosse-Washtucna 56, Mary Knight 28: Jared Ayers-Stamper led all scorers with 17 points, and LaCrosse-Washtucna never trailed.

Justin Aune and Adam Roberts scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Tigercats. L-W held Mary Knight to 11-for-55 shooting (20 percent), including 2 for 16 beyond the 3-point arc.

L-W made 10 of 24 3-pointers, including Ayers’ four 3-pointers and two apiece by Roberts, Aune and Jeremy Miller.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline 57, Neah Bay 45: Greg Giese’s season-long dominance showed no signs of slowing down at state, and he led the Warriors with 21 points and 18 rebounds to overwhelm Neah Bay.

Averaging 23.8 points a game, Giese also contributed with five steals. Kyle Tucker complemented Giese’s effort with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Taylor McDonald added 10 points and eight rebounds for ACH (10-13).

The Warriors led 31-20 at halftime and outscored Neah Bay 21-9 from the line to maintain a comfortable lead.

ACH meets Liberty Christian in the state quarterfinals today at 4 p.m.

Lummi 66, St. John-Endicott 62: Lummi’s Glen Robertson made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to cap the Blackhawks’ rally for a first-round victory.

Warren Miller’s putback 22 seconds into the fourth quarter gave St. John-Endicott a 51-46 lead, but Lummi scored the next eight points to turn its deficit into a 54-51 lead. The Eagles eventually battled back to tie the game at 62-all on Miller’s 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, but they couldn’t muster another point.

Wyatt Sitton scored 16 points for St. John-Endicott. Miller added 15 and Brett Larson had 11.

St. John-Endicott (15-12) plays Odessa at 12:30 p.m. today in a loser-out game.

Sunnyside Christian 49, Odessa 29: Odessa was unable to get untracked on offense and couldn’t keep pace with a Sunnyside Christian team considered one of the front-runners to win a state championship.

The Tigers (8-16) made only 10 of 40 shots from the field and committed 23 turnovers.

That was more than enough to sabotage the team’s effort against the Knights, who steadily pulled away as the game progressed.

Drake Costlow led Odessa with 11 points.