Ryan Lafferty, Mt. Spokane stave off challenge from North Central

Mt. Spokane is where North Central wants to be. The Wildcats have qualified for state the past five seasons and are perennially at the top of the league standings and the state’s ranking system.

The Wolfpack are having a resurgent season, led by all-league guard Eli Williams and new head coach Robert Sacre, but to capture the top 3A seed to the District 8 tournament in a couple of weeks, they still need to go through Mt. Spokane.

And with the Wildcats still missing big man Andrew Rayment to injury on Friday, the opportunity was there to be seized.

But Mt. Spokane is ranked in the top three in the state for a reason. And North Central will have to wait for its next chance.

Ryan Lafferty led all scorers with 25 points, Bode Gardner added 12 and the visiting Wildcats held off the Wolfpack 64-55, establishing a one-game lead in the overall league standings and in the race to the top 3A seed.

The Wildcats moved to 13-2 overall, 5-0 in league.

“Going without two starters (Rayment, Lucas Dickau) for almost nine games, for these guys to do that shows our really incredible depth,” Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said. “That’s what it’s about and our kids stepped up.”

With his first basket of the night, Lafferty eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career.

“It’s a good feeling. It’s a good milestone,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to getting more wins for this team. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”

JuJu Ervin led NC (12-3, 3-2) with 15 points, eight in the fourth quarter. NC’s Jacori Ervin scored 14, mostly on dunks, and Eli Williams added 12.

“We’re very excited about the result,” Wagenblast said. “I’m really proud of our guys, especially defensively. (NC is) a really tough matchup. Oftentimes they had us by a foot. Our kids competed, they battled. Those are two really good basketball teams.”

“That was a really good game,” Lafferty said. “They’re athletic, physical, a real talented team. We knew it was going to be a dogfight going in. But we were prepared and we showed that in the game today.”

Gardner, the all-league football player listed at 6-foot-2, drew the assignment of guarding the 6-11 Jacori and 6-8 JuJu Ervin most of the night with Rayment still nursing an injury.

“They’ve got some height,” Gardner said. “Height all across the board. We worked on that all week, just trying to get them in the air. They played really well, we just kind of came out on top.”

“He’s a workhorse. He’s a dog,” Lafferty said of Gardner. “He showed that tonight. He’s been showing that all season with Drew Rayment out. Bode has stepped up big time battling with the big guys.”

Jacori Ervin had three dunks and a blocked shot in the first 3 minutes of the game, but also picked up two offensive fouls and came out midway through the quarter. Gardner made three buckets in the paint after Ervin left and it was tied at 12 after one quarter.

The Wildcats opened the second quarter with an 14-6 run and led 25-18 with 3½ minutes left in the half. Lafferty had 10 in the quarter, Nalu Vargas hit a long 3 late and Mt. Spokane led 33-24 at the half.

NC scored six quick points out of the gate in the third quarter to make it a five-point game, but the Wildcats answered and led by 10 with 2:34 left in the quarter. NC guard Nick Elliott hit a 3 from the corner, JuJu Ervin made a twisting layup and the Wolfpack trailed 42-36 entering the fourth quarter.

Gardner scored on the inside then drew Jacori Ervin’s fourth foul and made both from the line to push the lead back to 10 early in the period. JuJu Ervin got active on the offensive glass and knocked down three putbacks to keep it close.

But Lafferty drove to the hoop for a bucket, Vargas hit a fadeaway, and Mt. Spokane led 56-47 with 1:39 to play. After a stop, Gardner got loose for a two-handed slam to ice it.

“I’m a football player that plays basketball,” Gardner said. “I just was using my strength and physicality, that’s how I get in there.”

“Being one of the better teams in the state, we kind of have a target on our backs every game,” Lafferty said. “They definitely gave us their best shot. It’s always fun when we get to play teams like that.”