Curlew tops Tigercats, reaches semis

YAKIMA – Luck can take many shapes and forms.

Sometimes it’s a favorable bounce of a ball. Every now and then it’s even an accidental elbow.

Curlew rallied from an early deficit and made timely shots in overtime to stun LaCrosse-Washtucna 51-48 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the State 1B boys basketball tournament at the SunDome.

Curlew outscored the Tigercats 16-8 in the final quarter to force the extra session. In overtime, Cougars post Andrew Mannick rebounded his missed shot and inadvertently elbowed LaCrosse-Washtucna’s leading scorer, Jared Ayers-Stamper, in the face. Mannick’s putback gave Curlew a 49-46 lead with 53 seconds left in the contest.

But as important, Ayers-Stamper sat out the rest of the contest with a possible broken nose and a towel pressed against his face. Ayers-Stamper finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points.

“I still thought we would have won” if Ayers-Stamper finished the game, said Curlew’s Dillon Strandberg, who made 1 of 2 free throws with 7 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Strandberg and teammate Daniel D’Lerma said they’re confident that they’re going home Saturday with a championship trophy. Cougars coach Doug Grumbach acknowledged his team has had some things fall its way during the tournament.

He’s not about to turn down any good fortune.

“Again, it’s defense. Again, it’s out never-give-up willpower,” Grumbach said of the comeback. “We’ve been catching a few breaks, and it’s helping us that we’re getting a little luck on our side. Whoever wins the state championship is going to have to have some luck on their side.”

Liberty Christian 61, ACH 44

ACH’s Greg Giese posted 26 points and six rebounds, but Liberty Christian’s superior team depth – not to mention the 26 points from its star, Drew Hegarty – proved to be insurmountable for the upstart Warriors.

The fact ACH (10-14) qualified for the state quarterfinals may have labeled the Warriors overachievers, but they trailed only 28-24 at halftime. Hegarty, who made 6 of 11 3-point attempts, scored 12 points in the second half to help the Patriots pull away.

While Giese matched Hegarty’s final tally, he couldn’t match Hegarty’s efficiency. Hegarty finished 9 for 16 from the field, while Giese made only 10 of 26 attempts, 5 of 15 beyond the arc.

Still pursuing a fourth-place finish, ACH plays Tri-Cities Prep today at 12:30 p.m.

St. John-Endicott 51, Odessa 39

St. John-Endicott scored the game’s first 17 points and never looked back in the loser-out contest.

Neil Miller fired in 17 points, and Warren Miller chipped in with 14 for SJE, which will play Entiat at 10 a.m. today for a chance to play in Saturday’s trophy round.

The Eagles (15-13) prevented Odessa from scoring a point in the first quarter en route to a 15-0 lead. The Tigers scored in the opening minute of the second quarter but trailed SJE 23-12 at halftime and couldn’t make up the early deficit.

Drake Costlow scored a team-high 11 points for Odessa (8-17), and Kendall Fisher added eight points and 10 rebounds.