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

Grip on Sports: High school basketball is over, but that’s just the beginning

Gonzaga Prep’s Anton Watson, right, drives against the defense of Mt. Si’s Jonny Barrett during action in the State 4A boys basketball championship game Saturday, March 2, 2019, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash. (Patrick Hagerty / For The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh yeah, basketball season. Not to be confused with baseball season or soccer season or anything else right now. Especially at the high school level. Read on.

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• Winter sports ended last night for Washington’s high schools. When Gonzaga Prep’s boys cut down the nets for the second consecutive season as 4A boys champions, it marked the end of the end of the indoor sports for this school year.

Yes, we are headed outdoors. Someday. When the snow melts.

Before that day comes, however, we might want to stop and reflect on the success stories around here in hoops. There are a lot of them despite the lack of titles for area schools yesterday.

The Bullpups won. So did Colton’s girls, which seem to have a stranglehold on the 1B championship. The other five Spokane-area schools playing for championships came up short, however.

It happens. As a wise old coach once told me, “the other team wants to win too.”

So the prep basketball season comes to end. Those of us in Spokane have made it through another winter. Before you know it, there will be flowers blooming.

Somewhere.

• Funny, but the questions about whether this is Mark Few’s best team have quieted down. Maybe it’s because folks realize this edition of the Zags have proven everything it can prove until the NCAA Tournament.

It ran through a tough nonconference schedule with two blemishes, a tight loss to Tennessee in Phoenix and a not-so-tight loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill. (By the way, those two teams have proven to be pretty darn good.)

It ran through the West Coast Conference schedule with no blemishes, finishing up the perfect conference mark last night with a second-half surge at Saint Mary’s. The late 17-0 run powered GU to a 16-0 WCC mark.

Now comes the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Then the inevitable NCAA Tournament run. Where will it end?

I’m not sure but I am sure of one thing. When it is over, we will have the answer to the question: Is this Few’s best team?

• I understand why Saint Mary’s tries to shove as many paying customers into its gym as possible. But when the crowd and the warmth they generate result in slippery floor conditions, something needs to be done. It was shocking last night how many players slipped when making routine two-foot stops. It was almost as if they were playing in dress shoes, not Nikes. At least no one was hurt.

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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan was in Moraga to witness last night’s game and he brings us his game analysis and the keys to the win. … Theo Lawson motored over after Washington State lost to California (see below) and wrote a story concerning Tommy Lloyd and his efforts to watch his son play for G-Prep. … The guys in the office put together the recap with highlights. … I had my thoughts in the TV Take. … There are photographs from AP available as well. … The women held Senior Day yesterday and they celebrated in style. They fought their way past Loyola Marymount. Jim Allen was in McCarthey and has this game story. … Around the WCC, BYU held off San Diego and held on to a tie for second in the standings. The Cougars will be the No. 3 seed in Las Vegas, however. … USF is flailing into the postseason tournament following another loss, this one at home to Loyola Marymount.

WSU: If there was one game the Cougars were supposed to win, it was Saturday’s. They played at California. The Bears have struggled more than anyone in the conference, though they were coming off the high of upsetting Washington on Thursday night. And they got to celebrate a home sweep, as 20 WSU turnovers helped California earn a 76-69 victory. Theo was there and has this game story. … Around the Pac-12, it was a light night in basketball action, with only Oregon blowing out Arizona and Colorado handling Utah. Are the Ducks finally playing like they can? Will Utah hold on to a top-four finish? The Pac-12 everyone.

EWU: A last-second shot gave the Eagles a 68-66 victory over visiting Portland State. Ryan Collingwood was in Cheney and has this story. … Around the Big Sky, Northern Colorado stayed hot and held off Idaho State. … Montana bounced back with a win over Southern Utah. … Montana State held off Northern Arizona.

Idaho: The Vandals’ 14-game losing streak is over. They outscored visiting Sacramento State 94-90 in Moscow last night to end it. Peter Harriman has the particulars. … The women also picked up a win thanks to a late 3-point shot.

NIC: The Cardinal wrestlers, who have gone through a tumultuous season, finished sixth at nationals.

Chiefs: Spokane picked up a 5-4 win on the road against Tri-City.

Preps: Let’s get right to the coverage. We start with Dave Nichols in Tacoma, where he covered G-Prep’s 4A boys title win as well as the all-tournament selections. Dave also has coverage of the 4A girls’ title game, the 3A girls championship and the 3A boys as well. … From Yakima, we have coverage of the 2A and 1A games. … And in Spokane, where the State B tournaments are every year, we have game stories from Kittitas’ third-consecutive 2B boys title, Tri-Cities Prep’s 2B girls title, another 1B girls title for Colton and Sunnyside Christian’s win in the 1B boys. … There are photo galleries by Libby Kamrowski and Jesse Tinsley from the 2B boys, 2B girls, 1B girls and 1B boys as well. … Finally, the Idaho boys tournaments finished up last night too.

Mariners: The M’s newest Japanese pitcher is still adjusting to the American game.

Seahawks: It’s over. The Hawk career of Malik McDowell, we mean. … So what were the Hawks looking for at the NFL Combine?

Sounders: Seattle began its 2019 MLS season with a 4-1 win over visiting Cincinnati as Jordan Morris returned from injury with two goals. … Portland’s season began with a draw.

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• What a weekend. Now take a breath, grab a shovel and help your local high school baseball and soccer and softball and tennis and track coach clear snow. That’s the only way they are getting their athletes outside. Actually, even that won’t help until the temperature warms. Until later …