Gonzaga Prep makes quick work of Hanford in subregional

After two days of waiting, the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups cruised through the first round of the 4A subregionals, defeating the Hanford Falcons 79-54 in a quick game that lasted just a few minutes past an hour.

The game – originally scheduled for Wednesday, but delayed twice due to harsh weather and road conditions – pitted the top seed from the Greater Spokane League against the fourth-seeded 4A school from the Mid-Columbia Conference.

The Bullpups will play Central Valley today, after CV defeated Walla Walla on the road. The Bullpups beat CV twice during the regular season.

Gonzaga Prep 79, Hanford 54: The quick turnaround isn’t ideal, but G-Prep head coach Matty McIntyre had the luxury of resting his starters for the entire fourth quarter because of his team’s big lead.

“I thought we came out and did what we needed to do,” McIntyre said. “It was great to get everybody a run. We got enough (players) in that we were able to get our lungs back and we should be able to put our best foot forward (today).”

There were plenty of points to go around, and G-Prep had four players finish in double figures with sophomore Anton Watson leading the way with 14. Sam Lockett finished with 13 points, and Shane Eugenio and Jamaari Jones finished with 10 and 12 points, respectively.

G-Prep led 20-10 after the fist quarter and 37-20 at halftime. It started the game using its size and strength advantage to get the ball inside for quick, easy layups or dunks.

The Bullpups start three players 6-foot-5 or taller, while Hanford has just two players who reach 6-foot-4.

“We definitely wanted to go inside and make sure we toss the ball around the rim,” McIntyre said. “We had a size advantage so we wanted to make sure we were taking the shots that we wanted.”

The Bullpup defense rose up as well, creating turnovers that turned into fast-break points in transition.

“We definitely get after people on the defensive end and there’s still room for improvement but that’s the exciting part,” McIntyre said.

Hanford was without leading scorer and senior Ben Seaman for almost the entire game due to the flu. Seaman was the Mid-Columbia Conference leading scorer this season and averaged 20.75 points per game.

Seaman started the game but couldn’t play much more due to his illness.

The offense then fell to his teammates, as Connor Woodward led the way with 20 points – and impressive 18 of which came from six 3-pointers. In all, Hanford made 12 shots from beyond the arc, three more than its total 2-point field goals (9).

Hanford’s Blake Vander Top finished with 15 points and Andrew Lanning finished with 12.

Central Valley 63, Walla Walla 45: The visiting Bears (16-5) opened a 33-21 lead by halftime. CV visits G-Prep on Saturday at 6. Ryan Rehkow led CV with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Plunkitt had 10. CV outrebounded WW (9-10) 34-22.

Richland 70, Lewis and Clark 67: The visiting Tigers (13-9) came up short despite 17 points from Naje Smith and 16 from Diedrick Pakootas. The Tigers go to Chiawana (10-13) in a loser-out game Saturday at 7.

Ferris 53, Chiawana 41: Alec Seiller led the balanced Saxons (17-4) with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the visiting RiverHawks (10-13). Ferris led 33-19 at halftime. The Saxons go to Richland (16-4) on Saturday at 7.

3A subregional

Mt. Spokane 58, Rogers 38: The Wildcats (9-12) pulled away from the visiting Pirates (3-19) in the loser-out game. Mt. Spokane visits Kamiakin (17-3) on Saturday at 7. Jerry Twenge led the Wildcats with 17 points and J.T. Smith added 12. Evan Nomee led Rogers with 11.

North Central 66, Kennewick 63: The visiting Indians (4-18) held off the Lions (8-13) in the loser-out game. NC goes to Shadle Park (16-4) on Saturday at 6. Parish Neil hit six 3-pointers to lead NC with 18 points, Rashawn Lemery had 16 and Leon Sayers added 12.