State B boys recap

Mossyrock 49, Willapa Valley 46

For the first time in six State B appearances, Mossyrock returned home with a trophy in hand after defeating Willapa Valley Saturday in the 5th/8th place game at the Arena.

But it did not come easily.

Brady Langer for Willapa, averaging over 13 points a game, scored 20 the night before against LaSalle and was the focus of Mossyrock head coach Darin Allen’s defensive scheme.

For most of the game, Mossyrock showed a commitment to stopping Langer, particularly on the perimeter through the 1-on-1 defense of Jeremy Harper.

But Langer still scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field.

Jordan Bradley grabbed 10 rebounds for Mossyrock (19-10) and added seven points. As a team, Mossyrock shot 29 percent from the field and made 11-of-14 free throws.

For eighth-place Willapa Valley (17-10), Rick Bannish knocked down 10 points, Mike Anderson scored eight as well and hauled in 10 boards.

Mossyrock (19-10) – Wedam 3, Gross 0, Harper 0, Coleman 4, Palmer 19, Bradley 7, Allen 5, Bigbee 7, Hargett 0.

Willapa Valley (17-10) – Langer 18, Mayfield 8, Bannish 10, Johnson 0, Anderson 8, Colburn 2.

Riverside Chr. 43 Toutle Lake 41

Only a junior, Riverside Christian guard Chris Pynch played like it was the final game of his career as the Crusaders defeated Toutle Lake in the 4th/7th- place matchup at the Arena.

After a dramatic win over St. George’s the night before in which Pynch had the winning assist, he completely took over the game again in the final three minutes.

Down 37-35, Pynch drove the lane and dropped back for a pretty 10-foot jumper to tie the game with 2:10 remaining.

The Ducks responded with a bucket of their own on the next possession. Pynch took the inbounds pass and sprinted down the right side of the floor. Finding daylight in the Toutle defense he pulled up six feet off the basket and used the glass for another field goal to tie the game at 39-39.

After a timeout, Toutle Lake senior Dustin Elam drove the lane for a layup and the lead once again with 58 seconds remaining.

Riverside took possession and this time Pynch found Matthew Allan, last night’s hero, for an easy bucket and a 41-41 tie. Allan had 12 points for the game.

With 9 seconds left, Toutle Lake inbounded the ball at halfcourt after a timeout, but it was knocked out of bounds and Riverside recovered.

Pynch drove the lane, but ran into two Duck defenders. On the left side he saw Jered Cates cutting to the hoop and hit him with a bounce pass that Cates banked in with no time left. Pynch finished with a game-high 24 points and five assists for the Crusaders (19-4).

For Toutle Lake (20-7), Bobby Breece and Dustin Elam scored 10 points apiece.

Riverside Christian (19-4) – Pynch 24, Van Beek 0, Crockett 0, Hargrave 0, Cates 7, Boothman 0, Schmidt 0, Allan 12.

Toutle Lake (20-7) – Lindquist 5, Davidson 1, Hoff 0, Breece 10, Casi 0, Elam 10, Bartlett 7, DeLapp 2, Campbell 0, Harris 6.

Republic 59, Darrington 51 (OT)

Thanks to last-second heroics from Cody Groth, the mostly senior Republic boys’ lineup was able to end their career on a winning note.

Groth, who finished with 13 points, drove to the basket and shot over two defenders with 5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, where the Tigers held Darrington scoreless and finished off the Loggers 59-51 to take home the third-place trophy.

“The plan was to get the ball to Derek on the right side, but that didn’t work like we planned,” Groth said. “I decided to take the ball to the hoop and luckily it went in.”

Derek Gianukakis led the Tigers with 21 points and eight rebounds.

“My dad told us before the game, ‘Uou guys are playing in your last game together and it would be really special to come away with the win’,” Gianukakis said. “I’m never going to forget this.”

“We’ve been here four years now and taken first, fifth, second and now third – that’s a pretty healthy freshman class,” Derek’s dad, coach John Gianukakis said.

Todd Orestad also contributed 13 points in the Tigers’ victory.

“Ending our high school careers wouldn’t have felt the same if we didn’t win,” Orestad said. “I almost cried when I came onto the court today because it means so much to us.”

Republic (28-3) – Booher 0, Groth 13, Gianukakis 21, Parker 0, Sharp 0, Orestad 13, Schols 0, Besemann 2, Lehn 4, Beck 6, Koontz 0, Corbett 0.

Darrington (15-11) – O’Dell 3, Hoveskeland 0, Vincent 9, Green 9, Lenker 0, Parris 12, Haywood 4, Jones 6, A.Olsen 8, Grimmer 0, N.Olsen 0, Kelley 0.

NW Christian 46, Wahkiakum 38

Northwest Christian repeated as champion after defeating Wahkiakum 46-38 in the title game. Northwest Christian made 10 free throws in the final two minutes to close it out.

Wahkiakum (25-2) – Briscoe 11, McClain 0, Ferguson 6, Tr. Bain 2, Hamman 0, Olsen 0, David 12, Gerlach 0, Ty. Bain 0, Savant 7.

Northwest Christian (29-1) – Ramey 10, Graham 5, Descoteaux 2, Grewe 11, Vandenburg 0, Iranon 3, Richardson 2, Stradling 0, Zandbergen 13.