Cusick boys, ACH girls win district

In front of a packed house Friday night at Deer Park, it took more than regulation to decide the District 7 1B boys basketball champion.

Cusick needed overtime to defeat Odessa 60-54.

Cusick, which wins its first district title since 1981, moves onto the state tournament next week in Yakima. Odessa plays a winner-to-state game tonight against Curlew.

On the girls’ side, Cusick couldn’t duplicate the boys’ result. Almira/Coulee-Hartline started the second quarter on a 15-2 run and never looked back in beating the Panthers 54-41.

Cusick 60, Odessa 54: With the Tigers trailing 50-47, guard Bryce Todd hit a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.

But after going 1 of 7 from the free-throw line in the fourth, the Panthers scored all 10 of their points from the stripe in overtime for the win.

The Panthers (17-5), who trailed by as much as nine in the first half, didn’t take their first lead until 7:52 to go in the fourth.

Cusick was led by senior Raymond Ostlie, who scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. He added six rebounds and two steals.

“I just didn’t want to lose,” said Ostlie. “We all needed to pitch in and I couldn’t be more thankful for all my teammates.”

After giving up 33 points in the first half, the Panthers held the Tigers to 17 second-half points.

“We’ve been in that situation all year,” said Cusick coach J.R. Bluff. “The biggest thing is, we won the third and fourth quarters.”

Senior Travis Todd dominated the low block for the Tigers (10-10) with 27 points, but it just wasn’t enough.

“We didn’t give Travis the ball enough in the second half,” said Odessa coach Ken Schutz. “We’re disappointed but we’re going to bounce back.”

In another District 7 1B game, Austin Mannick scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Jordon Wakefield added 14 points, 18 boards and seven blocks as Curlew (17-7) beat St. Michael’s 58-46 in a loser-out game at Riverside. Tyler Knight had 17 points and Michael Ochoa added 14 to lead the Warriors (6-15).

•Kelly Cook scored 23 points and Casey Cook added 16 as Tekoa-Oakesdale secured a spot in the state tournament with a 66-47 win over Tri-Cities Prep in a District 9 1B game in Walla Walla. The Nighthawks (16-8) play Liberty Christian today to determine the third and fourth seeds to state. … Mark Wilson scored 21 points as Liberty Christian beat LaCrosse-Washtucna 57-33 in a loser-out game. The Tigercats ended their season 15-9.

Girls

ACH 54, Cusick 41: The Warriors were the team that looked like it had won its league, playing tough defense and making smart decisions on offense.

The Warriors (11-11) were led by seniors Nikki Porterfield and Breanna Martin. Martin scored a game-high 19 points while Porterfield added 11.

“Everyone came to play tonight,” said ACH coach Ben Addink. “It’s special when a team like ours comes together at the right time. I’m really proud of the way my girls played.”

The Panthers (15-6), who stayed within reach most of the game, just couldn’t hit a shot when they needed it. They were led by junior Traci Miller and sophomore Holly Edwards, who combined for 32 points.

The Panthers will play in a winner-to-state game tonight at Deer Park against Curlew or Northport at 7. The Curlew-Northport result from Friday was not reported.

•Elisha Lopez scored 13 points to lead Garfield-Palouse (19-4) to a 32-28 win over LaCrosse-Washtucna in a District 9 1B game at Walla Walla. Karla Koller had a game-high 14 points to lead the Tigercats (14-11), who were eliminated. … Touchet defeated Tekoa-Oakesdale 49-30 to earn its first trip to state since 1974. Desiree Chappell had 10 points to lead the Nighthawks (14-10), who were eliminated. Touchet will play Garfield-Palouse today to decide the third and fourth seeds to state.