Indians cap improbable run with 3rd place

SEATTLE – The North Central Indians lost nearly two-thirds of their basketball games this year. So what?

Today, they are the third-best boys 3A team in the state of Washington by virtue of Saturday’s 47-39 victory over Southridge from Kennewick.

Topping even last year’s performance when the Indians finished fifth following a 55-year absence from the state tournament, and despite their 11-18 overall record, this gutty group of basketball players won seven of its final nine games, all in the postseason to stake their claim.

“I think it was because of our coach’s speech at the end of the season,” said junior Nick Rijon, one of several NC players who produced clutch plays at varying times in the game. “He said we’ve got to figure out what ‘it’ is (that special ingredient that makes winners), that it’s inside us not what happened outside.”

Whatever it was, the Indians found it, beginning with their two-win district title, two wins in three games to qualify for state and finally, a 3-1 record at the University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena, capped by a victory over Southridge.

Had Rijon seen anything like it?

“No, I really never have,” he said. “But we stuck to it and got it.”

The Indians came out with the idea that if they were going to win against a taller, more physical foe, it would be from the perimeter.

They hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter for an 11-7 lead with 2 minutes, 17 seconds remaining. But it was 5-foot-9 junior reserve DJ Scott who really set the tone. He made three on as many attempts in the second period, two of them back-to-back to push the Indians ahead 17-9.

“I kind of caught fire and just couldn’t miss in the first half,” said Scott.

“Those were huge shots by DJ,” Rijon said. “Big, big shots.”

All three came from the right side of the key, two on the baseline, the other at the elbow to make it 22-14 before a late Southridge run cut NC’s lead to a point at intermission.

The Suns scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to take their second, brief, lead in the game. That’s when Rijon, who had been blanked in the first half, scored six straight points to put the Indians ahead 28-25. He finished the game with 13.

NC led by as many 10 points in the fourth quarter. The teams traded turnovers or inopportune shot attempts that enabled NC to hold nearly that advantage for 3 minutes.

Southridge made a couple of 3-pointers in the game’s final 1:05, but the Indians converted six free throws and Justin Anderson hauled down eight defensive rebounds to deny the Suns.

“It was tough holding onto the ball,” Anderson said. “It was like I’d rubbed my hands in butter. But we wanted to win more than anybody.”

And so this two-year saga, including a crazy 2006-07 season, played out its amazing, if improbable outcome.

North Central had gone 55 years without a state trip until last year when it lost its tourney opener, then won three straight. It graduated the two stars most responsible for the turnaround and the Indians stumbled through a 4-16 Greater Spokane League season, albeit five of those losses coming by five points or fewer.

As the third playoff entrant to district the Indians won twice in loser-out games, over East Valley and Kennewick, to reach state. They certainly made the most of this week’s trip to Seattle.

“We worked hard all season,” said Cody Hauenstein, who made two of North Central’s eight 3-pointers, finished with 10 points and also grabbed five clutch rebounds. “We came together at the right time and had a nice little run.”

Asked once more to explain how this all came about, coach Jay Webber continued to search for words.

“I just can’t say enough about what the kids have gone through this year,” he said. “At times they could have just packed it in and said enough’s enough. But they found a spark and fed off it.”

He lauded the efforts of a number of players, including the scoring of Javier Grigsby and steady play of point guard Boone Plager, who also hit a pair of 3-pointers against Southridge.

“He’s the most underrated guard in the league,” Webber said. “We desperately needed leadership and he provided it all year. This is all about kids making plays. Once they decided to do it, great things started to happen.”

North Central 47, Southridge 39

Southridge (21-7) – Fullerton 0 2-4 2, Jones 1 0-0 2, Knight 3 0-0 9, Mattair 6 3-4 16, Mendenhall 1 1-5 4, Meraz 0 0-0 0, Munns 3 0-0 6, Teimouri 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-13 39.

North Central (11-18) – Plager 2 2-2 8, Grigsby 1 1-1 3, Rijon 5 2-2 13, Butler 0 0-0 0, Scott 3 0-0 9, Schaefer 0 0-0 0, Hauenstein 3 2-2 10, Lamanna 0 0-0 0, Swennumson 1 0-0 2, Anderson 0-2 2-3 2. Totals 15 9-10 47.

3-point goals – Knight 3, Mattair, Mendenhall, Hauenstein 2, Plager 2, Rijon, Scott 3. Total fouls – Southridge 11, North Central 11.