Chiefs held to 14 points in first three quarters
MOSES LAKE - Kamiakin finished its 53-29 win over Moses Lake with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Chiefs' head coach Brant Mayo finished the game with a look of dismay on his face.
"I don't have any answers for that right now," Mayo said about the state of his team. "We are going to have to take a couple days and see what direction this team is going."
It seemed like an endless night for Moses Lake as they watched Paul Martin drop 28 points to lead the Braves into a three-way tie for fifth spot in the Big Nine.
A win would have kept Moses Lake in fourth. Instead, they share fifth place with Kamiakin and Southridge.
"To lose games against teams you are going to be fighting with is tough," Mayo added.
The struggle began early for the Chiefs, who didn't make a field goal in the first quarter. Quinn Baker, who finished with five points in the game, scored his first two points from the free-throw line.
Moses Lake's other point came from B.J. Guerra's 1-for-2 shooting from behind the line. The three points was the lowest point-total to start a game this season.
Bryan McCaffery scored the first field goal for Moses Lake to start the second quarter after picking up an offensive rebound followed by a quick basket in the key. Baker scored his only field goal of the game with 1:22 left in the second slicing baseline past a Kamiakin defender.
The two field goals signified a team-low 2 of 21 shooting by the Chiefs in the first half, sending Mayo into the locker room confounded.
"Our effort and team unity showed things I didn't expect," Mayo said. "I told them to share the ball and make that extra pass."
Meanwhile, Martin picked his way through the Moses Lake defense in the first half to put up 11 of his 28 points.
The second half showed a slight improvement as the Chiefs opened the third quarter on a 3-0 run and cut Kamiakin's lead to 19-10. Martin followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Travis Wingfield scored two quick baskets to push the Braves' lead to 25-12 with 3:31 left in the third.
Martin continued to weave his way through the Moses Lake defense, scoring seven points in the next three minutes, including three straight free throws after a Ryan Carpenter foul.
The Chiefs made its best offensive production in the fourth quarter, posting 15 points after Kamiakin created a 23-point lead. The Braves hung 16 in the final eight minutes, partly behind Jared Young who scored the final four points of the game, including his 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kamiakin scored 27 points off of 20 Moses Lake turnovers to build the lead, a problem the Chiefs have had all season, Mayo said.
The loss was the lowest point total for the Chiefs this season and after starting the season 4-1, Moses Lake has gone 1-4 the last five games.
"They are all bad and losing at home is not good, especially when you are losing in the standings," Mayo said about the slide.
Kamiakin 53, Moses Lake 29
Kamiakin (53) - Young 4, Martin 28, Wingfield 4, En'Wezoh 2, Osborne 2, Z. Rensink 2, Gilbert 7, D. Rensink 4. Moses Lake (29) - Roylance 2, Dalton 2, Acres 3, Baker 5, Carpenter 6, McCaffery 2, Guerra 7.