Boys state: Top-seeded Gonzaga Prep survives opening round scare from Puyallup; Mt. Spokane, West Valley suffer losses

Jack Pierce plays basketball like a defensive back – he was a Greater Spokane League first-team all-league safety for the Gonzaga Prep football team in the fall.

That’s a good thing for Bullpups, who value defense above all else.

On Saturday, Pierce had a career night with 14 points and the top-seeded Bullpups held off the eighth-seeded Puyallup Vikings 56-54 in a State 4A opening-round game at West Valley High School.

Gonzaga Prep (23-2) advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. Hudson Floyd led the Bullpups with 16 points, and Jackson Mott added 10.

“It was a hard-fought game. We knew it would be,” Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre said. “I’m just glad we came out on top.”

Pierce had eight points and four steals in the third quarter, throwing his body all over the floor as G-Prep built a nine-point lead. The Bullpups needed every one, as they only scored nine points in the fourth.

“(Pierce) is a tough kid,” McIntyre said. “He’s an intelligent kid. He knows the scouting report inside and out, and he’s got great instincts with whatever sport he’s playing.”

G-Prep led 47-38 after three quarters, but Puyallup (20-7) chipped away at the deficit as G-Prep went cold and trailed by two with two minutes left.

G-Prep’s Brogan Howell made a short jumper with 90 seconds left, but 6-foot-7 post Will Nasinec followed with two from the line. Floyd hit a fall-away jumper with 35 seconds to go, but Nasinec drained a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Floyd made a free throw with 17 seconds left, the Bullpups almost came up with a turnover, then Drew Jones was short with a 3-pointer at the horn.

“(Puyallup) did a really good job of getting their two best players on the same side (in the fourth), and they were picking and popping,” McIntyre said.

G-Prep set the tone early with a 9-0 run to start the game and led 16-10. Jones scored all of the Vikings’ 14 points in the second quarter, and G-Prep clung to a 28-24 lead at halftime.

Puyallup tied it quickly in the third quarter, and McIntyre asked for a timeout. Floyd hit a long 3-pointer with three minutes left in the quarter to start a 12-0 run. Pierce scored eight in the quarter and the Bullpups led 47-38 entering the fourth.

“We left some points on the board offensively,” McIntyre said. “We certainly have some things that we can improve upon in the next couple days before we head over, but we’ll take the ‘W’ for sure.”

Jones led Puyallup with 17 points, and Nasinec had 16.

3A

(7) Seattle Prep 61, (2) Mt. Spokane 47: Nicholas Schanno scored 18 points, and the Panthers (18-10) beat the Wildcats (17-8) in an opening-round game at West Valley.

Nalu Vargas led Mt. Spokane with 19 points. The Wildcats face 10th-seeded Monroe in a Round of 12 game on Wednesday at Tacoma Dome.

“(Seattle Prep) does a really great job of pressuring the ball,” Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said. “And I still think we had a lot of open opportunities that we’ve just got to make. We had good looks and they just didn’t go down.”

Mt. Spokane went 4½ minutes at the start of the game without a score. Seattle Prep wasn’t much more efficient and led 14-8 after one quarter. The Panthers used a 9-3 spurt at the start of the second quarter to build a double-digit lead.

Vargas drove the lane, then hit a 3-pointer to get Mt. Spokane within four, but Schanno hit a late 3-pointer and Seattle Prep led 30-23 at halftime.

The Wildcats used a 7-2 run at the start of the third quarter to make it 32-30, but Seattle Prep scored the next 18 points and led 49-32 entering the fourth.

“(Seattle Prep) did a great job of finding their cutters,” Wagenblast said. “We were not great on offense, and I think that led to lapses on defense.”

2A

(5) Selah 71, (4) West Valley 47: Jackson Pepper and Jonathon Wright scored 18 points apiece, and the visiting Vikings (20-4) beat the Eagles (20-4) in an opening-round game. Will Busse scored 15 points, and Nathan Zettle had 10 for WV, which faces 12th-seeded Franklin Pierce in a Round of 12 game Wednesday at Yakima Valley SunDome.

1A

(15) Overlake 62, (10) Riverside 51: Brandon Douvia and Carter Douvia scored 14 points apiece, and the Owls (15-9) eliminated the Rams (16-5) in an opening-round game at West Valley. Jake Graham led Riverside with 22 points.

2B

(1) Columbia (Burbank) 89, (8) Northwest Christian 75: The Coyotes (24-1) beat the Crusaders (18-8) in an opening-round at Richland High. NWC faces ninth-seeded Napavine in a Round of 12 game Wednesday at the Arena.

(3) Reardan 73, (6) Toledo 35: Jakari Singleton scored 18 points, and the Screaming Eagles (22-2) beat the Indians (22-4) in an opening-round at Cheney High. Reardan advanced to a quarterfinal at the Arena on Thursday.