Chiefs down Bombers in OT

Moses Lake pulls away from Richland in game, league standings

MOSES LAKE — It came down to one big stop. After that, the rest was easy.

With 16.8 seconds left in regulation and the score knotted at 54, Moses Lake need to keep Richland from scoring in order to force overtime.

The Chiefs' defense did one better, keeping the Bombers from getting off a shot.

"That 16 seconds at the end of regulation, for a team that executes that well to not even get a shot up, to me that showed me how much we wanted to win the game," said Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo. "I felt really good after that."

He had reason to. In overtime, Moses Lake put Richland away.

Richland was unable to hit on its first possession despite two offensive rebounds.

After a Pat Anderson free throw gave Moses Lake the 55-54 lead, sophomore Quin Baker recovered from a blocked shot with a steal and a layup.

Richland, which was ahead for most of regulation, lost their heads once behind. It was all Chiefs from then on.

A Bomber loose-ball foul and a technical foul with 55 seconds left gave senior guard Robbie Waites four shots from the line and the Chiefs the ball.

Waites connected on three and the Chiefs ended with a 65-56 win.

The home victory ends a two-game slide for the Chiefs. It was a big one for Moses Lake, Mayo said.

"Being tied with (Richland in league standings), we've got to win," he said. "And we had a pretty good team effort."

Baker had a double-double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds, leading all scorers. Anderson had eight points and pulled in 11 rebounds.

Moses Lake came out strong in the first quarter, with Chiefs' rebounders hitting their outlets to set up easy layups. They led 16-11 at the first break.

But the Bombers took charge early in the second quarter, scoring six points and taking the lead in the first minute.

The Chiefs fell by as much as seven points in the second half.

"We just had some really simple breakdowns — defensive breakdowns where we gave them a simple score," Mayo said.

The Bombers were also aided by offensive rebounds.

"They had a lot of second-chance opportunities," Mayo said. "They didn't finish on a lot of them, but still, when you get a team like that to miss a shot, you've got to take care of the boards."

The Chiefs stayed close as Richland's shooting went in the tank. After shooting 54 percent in the first half, the Bombers could only muster 30 percent in the second half.

The Chiefs finally tied the score at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, and it was a seesaw battle until overtime.

With the win, the Chiefs improve to 5-3 in Big Nine play. Their next game is at Wenatchee (1-6) Friday.