1B boys: Almira/Coulee-Hartline wears down Taholah

In need of a confidence-booster, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline boys got a big one Wednesday afternoon.

The Warriors’ regional loss last week to top-ranked Sunnyside Christian was left in the dust thanks to a 69-40 win over Taholah in the opening round of the State 1B tournament at the Spokane Arena.

Their reward is a quarterfinal date Thursday with second-ranked Muckleshoot Tribal. The Warriors can’t wait.

“We’ll scout ’em tonight,” said junior guard Maguire Isaak, who led ACH with 24 points.

Oddly enough, Isaak wasn’t the high scorer in Wednesday’s game. Taholah’s Zach Cain had 26, but no other Chitwhins had more than six.

“That was the idea, to put pressure on him,” coach Graham Grindy said. “Defensively, we set the tone tonight.”

The Chitwhins and their fans drove 400 miles from the far side of the Olympic Peninsula only to get stuffed on the boards (by a whopping 40-14) and get held to 37-percent shooting.

ACH did more than enough on offense, shooting 52 percent from the field and almost as well (7 for 14, or 50 percent) from beyond the arc.

Hayden Loomis had 11 points while shooting 3 for 4 from long range, and Reese Isaak added 10 points. Payton Nielsen had eight points and eight boards.

ACH set the tone in the first quarter, which ended with the Warriors up 12-4. The lead was 29-18 at intermission, and ACH steadily pulled away in the second half.

Team defense was the key, said Isaak, who also had seven boards.

“Everyone plays their assignment,” Isaak said. “There there isn’t anybody on the team that isn’t working hard.”

Certainly the Warriors (19-6) will have to work a bit harder on Thursday. Muckleshoot Tribal is 25-2 and riding an 18-game winning streak.

For Taholah (19-4), Cain was 10-for-18 from the field and played all but the game’s final seconds.

“He’s a special player,” Isaak said.

Cedar Park Christian 88, Tulalip Heritage 72: Erwin Weary scored a game-high 30 points and the Lions took an 18-point lead in the first quarter on their way to eliminating the Hawks.

The third-seeded team in 1B, Cedar Park Christian was coming off a 55-31 loss to Odessa in last week’s regionals.

The Lions (27-2) easily shook off that defeat, taking a 23-5 first-quarter lead over the Hawks (21-7).

Cedar Park will face fourth-seeded Yakama Nation Tribal (20-5) in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 9 a.m.

The Lions had four players in double figures. Weary, a senior guard, led the way with 9-for-12 shooting and 12 rebounds.

Senior forward Jaide St. Lewis was 7 for 8 from the field and finished with 17 points and a game-high 15 boards.

Tulalip Heritage got 21 points from guard Josh Miranda, who hit 7 of 8 3-pointers.

Tacoma Baptist 50, Naselle 47: Senior P.J. Talen scored a game-high 24 points, including a three-point play with 32 seconds left, lifting the Crusaders past the Comets.

Their reward is a Thursday morning quarterfinal date with top-ranked Sunnyside Christian. Tipoff is at 10:30 a.m.

Trailing by five at halftime and still down 36-33 going into the fourth quarter, Tacoma Baptist (23-5) took a 43-42 lead on Talen’s two foul shots with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left.

Talen also had a game-high 11 rebounds.

With the game tied at 43, Tacoma Baptist eighth-grader Bradley Swillie hit a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left to give his team the lead for good.

Swillie, a 6-foot-2 point guard, had 15 points and seven assists. Along with Talen, Joey Pascua and Titus Von Barnau Sythoff, he played all 32 minutes.

Denny Edwards had 13 points for Naselle, which finished 18-7.

Pomeroy 59, Mt. Rainier Lutheran 38: Jacob Tewalt scored 25 points and the Pirates shot 62 percent from the field in the second half to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Pirates will face No. 6 seed Odessa at 12:15 p.m.

Pomeroy (21-3) led by just 39-31 going into the fourth quarter, but it dominated the final period to eliminate the Hawks (19-11).

After winning 16 straight games to start the season, Pomeroy dropped three of its next seven entering Wednesday’s game.

But after a rough start – the Pirates led just 7-6 after the first quarter – Tewalt led the way. The senior post hit 10 of 18 shots.

Mt. Rainier Lutheran was led by Jack Shannon, who scored 13.