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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

State 2B boys: Brock Ravet, Kittitas claim third straight title with win over St. George’s

Kittitas' Brock Ravet, center, (32) raises his hands in victory as time runs out on the 2B boys title game Saturday, Mar. 2, 2019 at the Spokane Arena. THe Kittitas Coyotes beat the St. George's Dragons 79-51 to take the 2B boys state title at the Hardwood Classic B tournament. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Dan Thompson For The Spokesman-Review

Once again the Kittitas Coyotes proved they are more than just their Gonzaga-bound senior guard.

Though Brock Ravet sure was good Saturday night.

Ravet finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, with a game-high 27 points and 10 assists to lead the Coyotes to their third consecutive State 2B title in a rematch of last year’s championship game, 79-51 over the St. George’s Dragons at the Spokane Arena.

“Their other starters really hurt us, especially in that first half,” St. George’s coach Ryan Peplinski said. “The other guys, they’re good. They can really shoot it.”

Kittitas senior Caleb Harris sank 7 of 10 field-goal attempts for 15 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

“It feels amazing. I just can’t believe it,” Harris said. “Three-peat. Three-peat.”

Kittitas becomes the third three-peat champions of the boys’ State 2B tournament, after Northwest Christian’s run of four from 2006 to 2009 and Brewster’s three 27-0 seasons from 1975 to 1977.

It also avenged Kittitas’ 75-66 loss to St. George’s on Nov. 30, the only defeat the 28-1 Coyotes suffered all season.

St. George’s kept up with Kittitas in a 14-14 first quarter and then to a 28-all tie midway through the second. But the Coyotes scored 28 of the next 35 points, stretched their lead to as many as 25 in the third quarter and hit 12 of their first 23 3-point attempts.

The Dragons simply couldn’t keep up.

“I think we came out of halftime looking to make that run,” Peplinski said, “and then they made a run.”

Not that the Dragons were playing particularly poorly. They shot better than 50 percent and had only six turnovers through three quarters. Still they trailed 56-38 heading into the fourth.

The Dragons (24-3) drew within 13 points, 60-47, with just more than 5 minutes left, but Justin Hudson hit a 3, and Ravet made jumpers on each of the Coyotes’ next two possessions to squelch the Dragons’ run.

“You can lose by five, or lose by 25,” Peplinski said, explaining his team’s quick-shot possessions late in the game. “We were gonna try to get back in it and we understood that it’s a high-risk, high-reward (strategy).”

By game’s end, the Coyotes were 15 of 29 from 3-point range – one make shy of the single-game tournament record. They held St. George’s to three free-throw attempts – all missed – and were called for just nine fouls.

The Coyotes also outrebounded the Dragons, 34-19.

Ravet was 9 of 20 from the field, including 7 of 13 on 3-point attempts.

Senior Erik Farias led the Dragons with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and senior Xander Werkman sank all seven of his shots for 14 points, most coming in the first quarter.

St. George’s lost in the 2B title game for the third time in six seasons.

Toledo 52, Lake Roosevelt 25: Westin Wallace and Andreas Malunat scored 12 points apiece and the second-seeded Indians (24-4) beat the eighth-seeded Raiders (21-8) in the fourth place game.

Tyler Jordan and Cameron St. Pierre led Lake Roosevelt with seven points apiece. Wallace added a game-high nine rebounds for Toledo and Fano Arceo-Hansen added 10 points.

The Indians scored 22 points inside compared to Lake Roosevelt’s four. Toledo controlled the glass 33-24.

The Indians’ defense never allowed more than nine points in a quarter, locking down the Raiders. Lake Roosevelt shot 8 for 35 (23 percent) from the floor.

Brewster 57, Life Christian 49: Cade Gebbers scored 22 points and the fourth-seeded Bears (21-6) beat the seventh-seeded Eagles (20-6) in the third-place game.

Conner Ashworth added eight points with a game-high 10 rebounds, and Joe Taylor had 12 points for Brewster. Noah Robinson led Life Christian Academy with 26 points and seven rebounds.

The back-and-fourth first half ended with Brewster leading 23-22. The Bears took over in the third quarter, opening up a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Timely free-throw shooting down the stretch secured the game for the Bears. Brewster shot 12 of 16 from the line in the second half.