Titans preserve late burst to beat Panthers
Titan boys give Mead fits
Jan. 17: But there was an interesting sidebar story to the University girls basketball victory over Mead that broke a second-place tie in the Greater Spokane League.
The Titan boys beat Mead 64-63. For whatever reason, U-Hi (5-10) has given the Panthers’ (11-4) problems. Both games went down to the wire this year, during a season split.
The teams have identical styles, and both games were fast-paced from start to finish. The Titans parlayed a third-quarter burst into an 11-point lead and hung on at the end as Mead missed a couple shots for the win.
Speedy U-Hi sophomore Mason Johnson flourishes in that up-tempo environment and scored 25 points. He’s averaging 17 points per game for the season and 20 over the last four games.
Saxons stay perfect
Jan. 19: Ferris boys continued to impress with an easier-than-expected 72-49 win over second-place Shadle Park on Friday. They play at Gonzaga Prep on Tuesday. The Bullpups had won four straight before Tuesday night’s game against Shadle Park, the last three by an average of 30 points per game.
At least their sons won
Jan. 17: Was there anything at stake at the Spokane Valley Mall IHOP prior to tonight’s East Valley-University wrestling match between Greater Spokane League unbeatens?
Junior Titan grappler Danny Jordan‘s dad is IHOP owner Jay Jordan, and Knight Billy Cabbage‘s dad, Bill Cabbage, is the restaurant manager.
“I’m not sure if they did anything, but I’m sure there were some fighting words, though,” Billy joked.
“We’re close family friends. There’s not a rivalry between us,” said Danny. “But I’m glad we’re not in the same weight.”
EV pulled out a thriller, 27-26 to keep its GSL championship hopes alive, rallying from 17-0 and 20-6 deficits.
Both wrestlers did their parts, Cabbage, a senior, scoring a late first-period takedown and holding on for a 3-1, 152-pound victory over Kenny Cleveland. Jordan won at 160-pounds, 6-2 over sophomore league unbeaten Dakota Lawson.
He’s the latest of the Jordan/Roberts clan that has more than 30 years of wrestling legacy at the two schools. Cabbage’s dad was a basketball player at Central Valley.
Quipped Jay Jordan of the friendly father banter, “We talk all the time. He called today to ask if we’d still be friends and if he had a job. We’ll go at it next, but he said it would have to be basketball.”
There was certain irony in University’s (7-1) loss to the Knights. EV won by major decision by freshman Sean Biltoft in the final contest at 119 pounds. That weight would likely have been filled for U-Hi by Anthony Rivera, who moved from EV where he was state runner-up. Rivera is out with injury.