District basketball roundup: Mt. Spokane, Mead boys advance to 3A third-place game; Kendall Omlin helps Ferris girls move on

Maverick Sanders scored 21 points, leading four in double figures, and Mt. Spokane topped University 75-68 in a District 8 3A loser-out at Rogers HS on Thursday.

Ryan Lafferty scored 18 points, Xavier Kamalu-Vargas added 16 and Andrew Rayment had 11 for Mt. Spokane (19-5). Jeremiah Sibley scored 25 points and Timmy Brummett added 19 for University (13-10).

The Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in 3A by the state media poll, faced elimination after falling to Ferris 55-50 on Tuesday in a semifinal.

“More games is honestly more fun for us,” Kamalu-Vargas, a senior, said. “That’s how we took it, and that’s one ‘W’ closer to where we want to be. So I’m happy where we are. I’m happy how we played, but we’re not done.”

“To have an opportunity to still go to state, that’s all you can ask for,” Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said. “We’re fortunate that (District 8) has three seeds this year and because of that, you know, we have an opportunity.”

The Wildcats advance to the district third-place game against rival Mead, a 77-59 winner over Walla Walla, on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Arena with a trip to state on the line.

“It’s always exciting for our guys to get a chance to play against their rival,” Wagenblast said. “Now, to get to make that happen in the Arena – every other Spokane school gets to do their rival game in the Arena and now that’s our opportunity, for the chance to go to state.”

Kamalu-Vargas had 10 points in the first quarter but the Wildcats trailed by one after one. Lafferty had 10 in the second and Mt. Spokane took a 44-37 lead into the break.

The Wildcats lead grew to double digits early in the third, but the Titans chipped away and Kamalu-Vargas’ layup just before the buzzer gave Mt. Spokane a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Lafferty got loose for a couple of fast-break baskets to get it back to eight, and the Wildcats made enough free throws down the stretch to keep Titans at arm’s length.

“At practice we’ve just been practicing free throws,” Kamalu-Vargas said. “Because previous games we lost because we couldn’t make a free throw. So that’s the difference.”

Ferris girls 45, Mt. Spokane 33: Kendall Omlin scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds, Elliott Hencz added 14 points and the Saxons (18-5) eliminated the Wildcats (9-13) in a District 8 3A loser-out.

Ferris will face Kennewick in the district third-place game on Saturday at noon at the Arena.

The Saxons lost by four on the road in Hermiston in a semifinal on Tuesday.

“I’m so glad that we got another opportunity just because that game on Tuesday was very unfortunate,” Omlin said. “I’m just happy we still get to keep going.”

“We were 4 seconds away from playing (in the title game),” Ferris coach Scott Ward said. “But credit to the kids for not allowing that to affect this game. I mean, it would be very easy to be down on yourself and not respond tonight and they did they respond. They played really hard.”

Omlin had eight points in the first quarter, including a pair of 3s, to state the Saxons to a 15-11 lead. The Wildcats clawed back but Hencz hit a 3 late in the frame and Ferris led 25-23 at the break.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Omlin drove the lane for a bucket and converted the free throw to extend Ferris’ lead to seven. A 3-pointer by Hencz made it double digits.

“(Omlin) kind of really changed things in the fourth,” Ward said. ”We got her at the point coming off ball screens, against their zone and they were staying out on shooters. There’s that gap and she found it.”

“We played hard, I thought we had a good game plan,” Mt. Spokane coach David Pratt said. “Our kids executed it for about three quarters. They’re super young and learning and inexperienced and learning that you have to play for 32 (minutes).”

Boys

Central Valley 61, Lewis and Clark 55: Dylan Darling hit four 3-pointers and scored 34 points and the Bears (16-7) eliminated the visiting Tigers (8-14) at Mead HS. CV faces Richland in the district third-place game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Arena. Landon Lewis led LC with 14 points.

Mead 77, Walla Walla 59: Zack Reighard hit six 3-pointers and scored 30 points and the Panthers (12-11) eliminated the Blue Devils (11-12) at East Valley HS. Diego Jacques led Walla Walla with 24 points and four 3-pointers.

District 7 2B

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 65, Davenport 58: Chase Galbreath and Hunter Dinkins scored 16 points apiece and the Broncos (14-10) eliminated the Gorillas (17-6) at West Valley HS. LRS faces Northwest Christian in the district third-place game on Saturday. Tennessee Rainwater led Davenport with 24 points.

Northwest Christian 56, St. George’s 55: Avi West scored 27 points and the Crusaders (14-9) eliminated the Dragons (11-12) at West Valley HS. Tanner Watkins led St. Georges with 28 points.

District 7 1B

Wellpinit 63, Inchelium 52: William Dick IV scored 37 points and Wellpinit (12-4) eliminated the Hornets (6-10). Isaac Hoskie led Inchelium with 12 points. Wellpinit faces Valley Christian, a 50-41 winner over Curlew, in the district third-palce game on Saturday.

Girls

District 8

Gonzaga Prep 56, Lewis and Clark 39: Lucy Lynn scored 21 points, Sitara Byrd added 14 and the Bullpups (18-4) eliminated the Tigers (10-11) at Mead HS. G-Prep faces Pasco in the district third-place game Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Arena. Katie MacKenzie led LC with 13 points.

Kennewick 59, University 56: Haylee Johnson scored 26 points and the Lions (10-12) eliminated the Titans (8-14) at East Valley HS. Eliannah Ramirez led U-Hi with 19 points and Katie Christensen added 14.

District 7 2B

Reardan 48, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 46: Ayden Krupke scored 22 points with two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to move Reardan (14-7) ahead of the visiting Broncos (11-13) at West Valley HS. Reardan faces St. Georges in the district third-place game on Saturday.

St. George’s 41, Kettle Falls 39: Margreit Galow scored 20 points and the Dragons (13-9) eliminated the Bulldogs (14-8) at West Valley HS. Mya Edwards led Kettle Falls with 19 points.

Idaho

Lake City 44, Rocky Mountain 39: Allie Bowman scored 10 points and the top-seeded Timberwolves (21-3) topped the eighth-seeded Grizzlies (12-14) in an Idaho 5A State first-round game in Nampa. Lake City advances to a semifinal against Boise on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Boise 52, Post Falls 38: Ashley Banks scored 18 points and the Brave (20-3) beat the Trojans (18-8) in a 5A first-round game. Lexi Heath had 13 points for Post Falls, which plays Rocky Mountain in a consolation game Saturday.

Preston 42, Sandpoint 24: Riley Ward scored 10 points and Preston (17-7) beat the Bulldogs (12-9) in a 4A first-round game at Mountain View HS. Daylee Driggs scored 12 points for Sandpoint.

Snake River 59, Kellogg 45: Reagan VanOrden scored 15 points and the Panthers (21-5) beat the Wildcats (13-6) in a 3A first-round game at Eagle HS. Hailey Cheney scored 19 points for Kellogg.

Butte County 52, Wallace 31: Anna Knight scored 14 points and the Pirates (22-0) beat the Miners (16-5) in a 1AD1 first-round game at Columbia HS. Jaden House scored 14 points for Wallace.