EV, Marshall pull inside job
Danny Marshall showed off his shooting range in the first half of Friday night’s Gauntlet spirit game between East Valley and Rogers.
But it was the Knights’ version of the Marshall Plan – get the ball to him inside – that proved most valuable during the second half and beyond as the Knights defeated the host Pirates 68-63 in overtime for their first win of the 2007-08 Greater Spokane League boys basketball season.
Marshall scored 21 of his game high 29 points in the final two quarters and overtime period, all in the paint, after hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the opening half.
His effort and that of guard Trevor Slocum at Rogers wiped out a 53-42 deficit in the fourth quarter to end a 0-12 season skid.
A loss by the Pirates (4-8) dealt a blow in their bid to reach the district playoffs.
EV coach Steve Henderson said the plan during halftime was, “to give the ball to our horse. They did a great job of staying with our offense and getting the ball where it needed to be.”
The focus at halftime was to work inside against the Pirates, who had been doing a good job of it themselves after taking a 16-14 lead after a quarter.
They scored at will around the basket while increasing their lead to 33-26 late in the first half, mainly by Jesse Vaughn and reserve Pat McCabe. They built on it in the third quarter, with Daniel Anderson scoring nine points as the lead ballooned 46-34.
But Rogers’ game came apart in the fourth quarter. The Pirates fell prey to fouls and missed some inside shot attempts as the Knights went on a 17-4 run to take a 59-57 lead.
Marshall scored 10 of EV’s 14 third-quarter points and combined with Slocum for a dozen more in the final period.
“We just kept running through our offense until they’d get me coming across the lane,” said Marshall. “Then we have a designed play to where Slocum gets me a post entry and I work 1-on-1.”
Andrew Durant sent the game into OT, only to have EV seal the win with eight free throws by Lonnie Quirk and Marshall.
“I’m so happy for our guys. It’s been a long time coming,” said Henderson. “We’ve been so close the last six games, they’ve been competing their rear ends off and they finally put together a whole game.”
Gonzaga Prep 67, Central Valley 58: The visiting Bullpups (9-4) gained third-place breathing room over the Bears (8-6) by building an 18-point lead through three quarters. Sean Fischer connected on five 3-pointers and Travis Long had his second straight monster game inside to lead all scorers with 20.
Ferris 77, North Central 49: Eleven players scored for the Saxons (14-0), fueled by Russell Hart off the bench in Ferris’ 26-12 third quarter. He had two baskets and two steals. Jared Karstetter, 11 for 15 from the free-throw line, finished with 21 points. Nick Rijon scored 16 points, including three first-half 3-pointers for the visiting Indians (4-10).
Shadle Park 60, Lewis and Clark 37: Zack Humphrey had five 3-pointers for 17 points and 7 rebounds, Anthony Brown added 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and Aaron Dunn scored 14 in the Highlanders’ (13-1) easy home win over the Tigers (2-9).
Mt. Spokane 44, University 41: After trailing 8-5, the visiting Wildcats (6-6) built a seven-point halftime lead on the 3-point shooting of Ryan Selland, then held on against the Titans (5-8). Between them, Selland and Jordon Poynor had eight 3-pointers and all but 12 of Mt. Spokane’s scoring total.