Raiders and Lions take up challenge

Local teams have had their run of success through the morning bracket games as the Colfax and Northwest Christian boys have advanced to the boys’ State 2B semifinals and Colton has moved on in the girls’ 1B bracket.

Next up in the 2B boys is Lake Roosevelt, which will go up against Napavine for a spot in the semis. Lake Roosevelt beat St. George’s handily to advance to Spokane and led by Ty Egbert, will try and beat the Tigers, who won their only game of the state tournament last Friday.

The Columbia Lions have risen to every challeng thus far this postseason after getting knocked off by Almira/Coulee-Hartline for the disrict title. Since then, the Lions have won four straight games and find themselves pitted against the Lobos of District 1.

LAKE ROOSEVELT VS. NAPAVINE

After trading buckets for the first two minutes, both teams go a little stagnant, currently on a combined 1:30 scoring drought. Matt Lopez hits a 3-pointer with 3:40 left in the first quarter to give Napavine a 10-5 lead The Tigers are currently on an 8-0 run.

Napavine 17, Lake Roosevelt 7 through one quarter

The Raiders cannot buy a basket at this point, on the wrong end of a 15-2 scoring run that has them in a 10-point hole at the start of the second quarter.

Napavine 34, Lake Roosevelt 7 halftime

The Tigers picked up right where they left off with their scoring run reaching 24-straight points. Jordan Brown has a team-high nine points for the Tigers, outscoring the Raiders by himself. The Raiders have not scored since midway through the first period, a scoring drought of roughly 12 minutes. Ty Egbert is the Raiders’ leading scorer at the break with four points.

Lake Roosevelt starts the second half on a mini 5-0 run of its own to pull to within 22. Keith Rosenbaum’s 3-pointer was the Raiders’ first field goal since the middle of the first quarter.

The Raiders cut the lead to less than 20 with a basket by Kohler. It’s now 38-20 Napavine.

Napavine 44, Lake Roosevelt 22 through three quarters

The Raiders’ 15 points in the third more than doubled their production of the first half, but they still find themselves down by 22 with only eight minutes to play. Egbert now has 10 for the Raiders, while Brown leads Napavine with 11.

Reece Stanley tallied 13 to lead the way for the Tigers, who kept the Raiders at bay in the fourth quarter, despite allowing 20 points in the frame. Ty Egbert led all scorers with 16 points for LR, which will try and bounce back tomorrow morning in the loser-out game.

Napavine 59, Lake Roosevelt 42 final

COLUMBIA VS. LOPEZ

Mackenzie Parrow finally snaps the scoreless tie at the 5:47 mark to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.

Lopez finaly gets on the board at the 1:06 mark on a bucket by Patience Taylor. The score ended a 13-0 Columbia run that nearly spanned the length of the first quarter.

Columbia 13, Lopez 2 through one quarter

The lack of scoring by the Lobos has not been due to cold shooting at this point. A ferocious full-court press by the Lions has resulted in less than five shots attempted by the Lobos in the opening period.

Columbia 28, Lopez 2 halftime

The Lions may just be trying to set a state record of their own after Sunnyside Christian held Mary M. Knight to the fewest points ever in State 1B history. After allowing just two points in the opening stanza, the Lions tightened up even more in the second, going on a 15-0 run to take a 26-point lead into the break.

Marina Steinbrueck’s bucket at the 5:54 mark ends a scoring drought of 11 minutes that spanned three quarters for the Lobos.

Columbia 43, Lopez 9 through three quarters

The Lobos all but guaranteed their names would not be in the record books with a seven-point outburst in the third quarter. But the Lions put even more distance between the two teams with 15 points.

The record has once again fallen. Just two hours after Mary M. Knight scored a record low 11 points against Sunnyside Christian, Lopez finished with nine points, failing to score in the fourth quarter.

Columbia 51, Lopez 9 final