Cusick falls out of title contention
YAKIMA – Cusick’s dream of a state title ran into an unexpected road block Friday night in a 70-54 loss to Moses Lake Christian.
The Panthers came into the game more than a little concerned about 6-foot-7 Riggs Yarbro, who had 55 points in MLC’s first two games, and Adrian Moffet, who, in the words of Cusick coach J.R. Bluff, “is a big scorer.”
What the Panthers didn’t seem prepared for was how easy Moffet’s teammates made it for him to score big.
Moffet largely ended Cusick’s title hopes with 20 first-half points as the co-favorite Lions moved into the title game of the State 1B boys basketball tournament at the SunDome.
Cusick (20-6) will play Almira/Coulee-Hartline at 5 p.m. for third and sixth.
Moffet could seemingly do nothing wrong in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers and adding two assists and two steals. The Lions hit six 3-pointers in taking a 42-19 lead at halftime.
Yarbro was as advertised, powering inside for 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Moffet broke his single-game record with 34 points. He is nine points short of the tournament scoring record held by Mark Wilson of Liberty Christian.
“We knew he was a big scorer,” Bluff said. “We’ve played big scorers all year, but we haven’t played against a team that plays that much like a team.”
The Lions played like a team focused on a state championship, shooting 53 percent from the field and hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers.
Spencer Shanholtzer, who hit the winner in the quarterfinals, had 20 points for Cusick
Tri-Cities Prep 43, Almira/Coulee-Hartline 35: The Jaguars cracked open a taut affair with a five-point surge in the first 2 minutes of the fourth period and held on to knock off the second-ranked Warriors (21-5).
Antonio Ledesma had four of the points for TCP, which is assured of its highest finish. Ledesma hit two free throws with 6:56 to play that sparked a 12-4 run that closed the game. His four points and two free throws by Ryan Mercado gave the Jags a six-point cushion, and ACH never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
The Cougars held ACH sharpshooter Derek Isaak in check, limiting the freshman to eight points after a 26-point performance against Tulalip Heritage in the quarterfinals.
The Jaguars’ defense hounded the Warriors into 25 turnovers, six in the final period.
Sunnyside Christian 68, Curlew 37: The Knights used a 23-5 third-period barrage to end the season for the Cougars (15-11).
Sunnyside Christian shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half and hit four 3-pointers. The Cougars committed 34 turnovers and were victimized by a tournament-record 20 steals by the Knights.
“We watched their game last night and we noticed their strength was their post,” SCS sophomore Steven Bosma said, referring to 6-foot-9 Cougars senior Jordan Wakefield. “We looked at their guards and saw they were a little weak. We’ve got a more balanced team, and we tried to attack their guards.
“And without their guards, they … they didn’t seem to perform well.”
The Knights took charge with a 14-0 scoring burst spanning the first and second quarters that saw five steals, then put it away with a 21-0 run that began just before halftime, included nine Cougars turnovers, and lasted through much of the third period.
Tanner Somday led the Cougars with 12 points.
Tulalip Heritage 61, Wellpinit 52: Kennedy Seyler’s 22-point, 14-rebound effort was for naught as the Redskins (21-5) were eliminated by the Hawks.
Wellpinit took a brief lead, 29-28, in the third period. The Hawks went on a 9-1 run and Wellpinit couldn’t recover.
Tulalip forced 18 Redskins turnovers, turning them into 14 points.
Cody Flett added 16 for Wellpinit. Lesjar McKinney had 23 points and 21 rebounds for the Hawks.
Rosalia 51, Oakville 47: Nathan Richards hit two free throws in the final 24 seconds as the Spartans (18-7) moved into the consolation championship game, slipping past Oakville in a game where the largest lead by either team was six points.
Richards and Jim Maley owned the fourth quarter, combining for eight of Rosalia’s 10 points.
Berry Peterson hit a 3-pointer for Oakville with 33 seconds left, cutting a five-point deficit to two, but Richards’ free throws ended it.
Maley led Rosalia with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Richards added 16 and Zach St. John 10.