Mt. Spokane clinches State 3A tourney berth
The Mt. Spokane boys basketball team has punched its ticket to the State 3A tournament.
Chaz Johnson and Jordan Poynor scored 16 points apiece to lead the Mt. Spokane Wildcats to a 56-51 victory over the Eastmont Wildcats in the 3A regional tournament semifinals at Richland High School.
Mt. Spokane scored the first 11 points of the second half to take the lead and then hit 11 of 14 free throws in the final 3 minutes to secure the victory.
Ryan Selland chipped in 13 points for Mt. Spokane (13-9).
Travis Yeski led Eastmont (17-7) with 15 points. Kellen Drake added 12 points and 11 rebounds and Malachi Roberts had 11 points.
Eastmont had a 33-13 rebounding edge.
Mt. Spokane will face West Valley of Yakima (19-5), a 53-46 winner over Kennewick (12-13), for the regional championship tonight at 5:30 at Richland.
Mt. Spokane and West Valley are the top seeds from the Greater Spokane League and Columbia Basin League, respectively.
Eastmont will face Kennewick in a winner-to-state, loser-out affair at 4.
Girls
West Valley (Yakima) 55, East Valley 45: It was a case of too little, too late for the Knights.
East Valley shot a horrendous 18.2 percent (6 of 33) in the first half when the Rams rushed to a 27-15 lead. West Valley extended its lead to 17 at the end of the third quarter before the Knights finally caught fire in the fourth quarter. But the lead was too much to overcome.
Erin Richardson led West Valley (17-8) with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Haley Curtis and Katelin Sillery had eight points apiece.
East Valley (8-14), which made 11 of 20 second-half field goals for 55 percent, was led by Jenni White’s 15 points.
Morgan Manchester added 13 points.
The game featured five lead changes. The West Valley bench outscored its East Valley counterparts 17-0.
West Valley will face Kamiakin for seeding to the State 3A tournament tonight at 7 at Richland.
Kamiakin was a 41-39 winner over Hanford.
East Valley will face Hanford for the third and final state berth at 8:30.