State B boys semifinals: Brewster’s Kelson Gebbers too much for Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in 55-50 loss

It’s always the Cinderella darling for whom the entire arena cheers.

Heading into Friday’s 2B semifinal matchup at Spokane Arena, fifth-seeded Brewster and ninth-seeded Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, winners of 10 of their last 12 games, were one win away from playing for the gold ball and continuing their magical run.

The clock struck midnight too early for LRS.

Kelson Gebbers scored a game-high 25 points and snared 19 rebounds as Brewster ruined the Broncos’ Cinderella run by completing a fourth-quarter comeback to advance back to the 2B state title game with a 55-50 win over LRS.

Brewster (21-8) will face No. 1 Davenport for the championship Saturday night at 9. LRS (21-8) will play Columbia (Burbank) for third place at 11:15 a.m.

But LRS made Brewster sweat. Jayce Kelly scored 23 points for the Broncos and knocked down six 3-pointers – four in the second quarter.

“They’re a class program,” LRS coach Dustan Arlt said of Brewster. “They’ve been here. They won it in 2020, were in the championship last year. I don’t know if that experience kind of helped them out in the second half.”

It was a slow start for both teams with Brewster leading 4-2 after 3 minutes. Following a timeout, LRS scored in bunches, going on a 14-7 run to end the first quarter up six.

The run continued in the second quarter, with Kelly knocking down four 3-pointers to put LRS ahead 32-23 at halftime.

“I was feeling it,” said Kelly, who also had 10 rebounds. “I wanted to put on a show for my family and friends that made it down. I wanted to make sure that we came for a reason and a purpose and wanted to put my talents out there.”

After halftime, the Bears scored five straight points with a 3-pointer from Brady Wulf and a lay in from Cort Gebbers. The run continued after an LRS timeout, with the Bears scoring six more points to take their first lead since early in the first quarter.

But LRS answered as Lance Williamson drained a 3 to put the Broncos up by two points heading into the final quarter.

Momentum was in the Broncos’ favor, but Kelson Gebbers had other plans.

The Brewster senior led an 11-4 run that put the Bears in control.

LRS hoped for one last run after another Kelly 3 but came up short in the final minutes.

“Yeah, we lost a big game, and it would have taken us to the championship, but we’re still playing at the Arena,” Kelly said. “What has been a drought for our city and our town, it’s really just amazing that we are here. It’s just heartbreaking that we didn’t make it.”

Davenport 76, Columbia (Burbank) 52: Tennessee Rainwater scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out six assists as the top-seeded Gorillas rolled past the fourth-seeded Coyotes 76-52 in the other 2B state semifinal game at the Arena.

“It was a bit of a turnaround from yesterday,” Davenport coach Matt Henry said. “I think the nerves got to us (yesterday), and I think today we just felt pretty darn comfortable in here.”

Cash Colbert scored 16 points and Brenick Soliday had 14, including four 3-pointers to help push Davenport (26-2) back to the state championship game for the first time since 2009.

The Gorillas will try and win their first state title on Saturday night against Brewster.

Quincy Scott led the way for the Coyotes with 17 points, and Tristan Frimodt scored 16. Columbia (24-2) will play for third-place against LRS.

The Gorillas started strong for the second game in a row, getting out to a 10-0 lead. Columbia responded with six straight points of their own to cut the early deficit after a timeout.

Davenport’s shots continued to fall in the second quarter, with Soliday and Rainwater pacing another run to increase the Gorilla lead to 20 at halftime.

The Coyotes’ started to show some life on the offensive end in the third as Frimodt and Scott combined for 15 of the 19 points in the third quarter.

But Davenport continued to answer.

The Gorillas outscored the Coyotes 16-11 over the final eight minutes to help sustain a comfortable lead that was never lost from the opening tipoff.

“Getting the experience from yesterday helped a lot,” Soliday said. “We didn’t make one three yesterday, but with that experience, and the atmosphere, we were more confident and more comfortable.”

1B

Wellpinit 56, Willapa Valley 53: Andrew Moyer scored 17 points, David Wyncoope III added 11 and Wellpinit held off the Vikings in a 1B semifinal.

Wellpinit moves on to the program’s first-ever state championship game against DeSales/Sunnyside Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m. Willapa Valley faces DeSale/Sunnyside Christian in the third-place game at 1 p.m.

The Redskins, who were eliminated from the first round of last year’s state tournament, got out to an early lead in the first up 13-7 and kept its six-point lead into the half up 30-24.

“One thing I changed this year was making these guys believe as a team,” Wellpinit head coach Billy Flett Sr. said. “We don’t have just one big main scorer. I can go to my bench and anybody off that bench can score.”

The Vikings outscored Wellpinit 29-26 over the final two quarters but a couple of key defensive stops in the last few minutes kept the top-seeded Redskins’ title hopes alive.

“What I love about this team is they call themselves, ‘Brothers’,” Flett Sr. said. “They work together and that makes my job easier as a coach.”

Riley Pearson led all Willapa Valley Scorers with 21 points. Kolten Fluke added 17 along with seven rebounds.

Sunnyside Christian 55, DeSales 41: Cole Wagenaar scored 17 points, Dash Bosma added 14, dnd the Knights (22-4) defeat the Irish (23-3) 55-41 in a 1B semifinal.

Sunnyside Christian will make its eighth trip to the state championship game, which is undefeated in its previous seven games played. They’ll take on Wellpinit at 5 p.m.

The Knights’ last state title was won back in 2019.

DeSales will take on Willapa Valley in the third-place game at 1 p.m.

“I’m just excited and so happy for the kids,” Sunnyside Christian head coach Dean Wagenaar said. “There’s the tradition of being here, so they see it and you hope the moment isn’t too big for them.”

It was the fourth time the Knights and Irish played each other this year with the first two going in DeSales’ favor by an average margin of victory of 13 points. The latest game on Feb. 17 was won by Sunnyside Christian by two.

Defensive efforts by the Knights put them up 12-2 early in the low-scoring first quarter. They controlled the tempo throughout the remainder of the first half, holding the Irish to shoot 26.3 percent.

DeSales showed a full-court press midway through the third quarter after some early baskets to cut the deficit. The veteran Sunnyside Christian squad remained calm, moved the ball up the floor and continued to find ways to score to hold off the Irish’s comeback.