Lions roar past Tigers

MLCA has three finish in double figures

MOSES LAKE — A 13-0 run in the second quarter was what the Moses Lake Christian Academy needed to take care of Entiat.

The run cushioned a five-point first quarter lead and allowed the Lions to cruise through the second half en route to a 57-38 win during the first day of the Moses Lake Christian Academy Christmas Tournament.

Leading the way for the Lions was Derek Dietzen who finished with a game-high 14 points, followed by Elijah Timofeyev with 12 and Josh Munoz with 10 points in the game.

"The way we started, we started with a lot of intensity and moved around the ball well," Moses Lake head coach Royce Nutting said.

Entiat's offensive failures were the result of Moses Lake's ability to read and shutdown the Tigers' passing lanes. The Lions stole six passes in the game with each resulting in a basket.

"We pressured the ball and made them make (bad) passes and we kept picking them off," Dietzen said.

After building a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, the Lions gave up a 7-0 run to Entiat, which was quickly doused by a Daniel Timofeyev 3-ball and Dietzen drive to the basket.

Billy Porter hit a midrange jumper from the corner for a Moses Lake 25-13 lead and Dietzen and Elijah Timofeyev finished the quarter with nine points for the Lions and a 36-19 lead.

Dietzen pushed the lead to 19 at the start of the third quarter on a 3-pointer at the top of the key and Porter and added another with 2:39 left in the third for a 46-25 lead. Elijah Timofeyev picked off his third pass to start the fourth quarter and fed David Timofeyev for a fastbreak basket.

The Lions only scored nine points in the final quarter and held Entiat to just eight points to win 57-38. Nutting said Entiat was a better team than what showed on the court and pointed toward the quick start by the Lions as the reason for Moses Lake's ability to slow them down.

"It wasn't as much their slow start as we started fast and pulled away from them," Nutting said. "We were better ball handlers and I was glad to see that."