GSL boys: Dowd leads Gonzaga Prep over Shadle Park
Senior guard Sam Dowd scored 21 points to lead Gonzaga Prep to its third straight Greater Spokane League basketball victory, 58-51, over Shadle Park on Friday night.
The Bullpups (7-3, 6-2 GSL) held an 8-5 lead at the end of a low-scoring first quarter as the two teams struggled to put points on the board.
Freshman Andreas Brown scored four of the Highlanders’ (3-6, 3-5) six points at the beginning of the second quarter to take a 12-8 lead, only to watch Gonzaga Prep open up its perimeter game and reclaim the lead at the 4:45 mark. The Bullpups then went on a 12-5 run to lead 26-17 at halftime.
Gonzaga Prep extended its lead in the third quarter thanks to Dowd driving the lane, confining the defense to the key and leaving his teammates with space to make shots. The Bullpups led 46-31 going into the final period.
“Sam is a unique player,” Bullpups coach Matty McIntyre said. “He can get into the paint off of penetration almost anytime he wants.” I loved the way he finished at the rim, and I especially liked how he was kicking the ball out and finding his teammates and finding them the shots.”
One of those teammates was senior Reed Hopkins. He finished with 13 points and seemed to answer a Highlander basket every time he got his hands on the ball.
“Reed was phenomenal,” McIntyre said. “He’s been really steady for us all year and he was attacking the basket better than he has all season. He’s an inside-outside player so he can create all sorts of matchup problems and he had a very solid game.”
The fourth quarter was much of the same until senior Alvin Welch and freshman N’Keil Nelson began to light it up for the Highlanders with under 3 minutes remaining. The duo combined for 12 late points, but it was too little, too late.
Welch finished with 11 points and had the difficult task of guarding Dowd. Senior Skyler Kelly led the Highlanders in scoring with 12 points.
Central Valley 53, Mt. Spokane 30: The league-leading Bears (8-1, 8-0) clamped down on the Wildcats (5-5, 3-5) at Mt. Spokane. Beau Byus and Cameron Tucker led CV with 11 points each. CV outscored the Wildcats 33-13 in the middle quarters.
Ferris 55, Rogers 32: Cody Benzel scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in a 60-second span as the Saxons (9-1, 7-1) had no difficulty with the visiting Pirates (1-9, 1-7).
Mead 58, Lewis and Clark 54: The visiting Panthers (7-3, 6-2) used a 21-0 run in the second quarter to dig out of a 15-4 deficit, and they held off the Tigers (2-8, 1-7) in the fourth quarter. Mitch Banaugh hit two free throws with 7 seconds left to secure the win. Will McPhee led Mead with 15 points and Max Hess had 10. Taylor Duncan led LC with 12.
University 56, North Central 43: The Titans (6-4, 4-4) outscored the visiting Indians (1-9, 1-7) 12-5 in the third quarter to begin to pull away. Michael Isotalo led U-Hi with 11 points and Spencer Lawrence had 11 for NC.