Chiefs open league with big win

MOSES LAKE — With three minutes left to play and no chance of winning, Eisenhower committed a flagrant foul.

Quinn Baker hit the floor with a thud but got up and shot his free throws, going 1-for-2 to give the Chiefs a 20-point lead.

The Cadet's woes continued with two more fouls in less than a minute to put Moses Lake on the line. BJ Guerra benefited from the first foul, going 2-for-2 for the Chiefs.

Cody Meeks preceded the second Eisenhower foul with a steal and layup to make it 69-45. Meeks continued his solid play, following a shot for a putback and Moses Lake's last field goal of the night.

The Chiefs earned three more points, all of them coming from the foul line, with Ben Waites going 1-for-2 and Casey Secrist going 2-for-2.

"We've been a work in progress to get here," said Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo. "The kids were great tonight. They played unselfishly with the ball, with their bodies and to beat them (Ike) by 18 on the boards is phenomenal."

Baker got the game started for Moses Lake with a layup and followed it up with a steal at the other end of the court. Baker finished off the play dishing to Tyson Garcia for a layup to make it 4-0 in the opening minutes.

Guerra's first points of the night came on a 3-point play — he earned the bucket and finished it off with a free throw.

Halfway through the first quarter, Josh Loera earned his first bucket of the night with a long 3-ball on an assist from Jared Walker.

With just under two minutes left to play in the period, Ike tied the game at 14. The tie was erased on Moses Lake's return trip down court when Ryan Carpenter connected with Loera for his second three of the game.

Garcia ended the period with a final 3-pointer for the Chiefs.

As the second quarter began, Loera found Guerra down low to a layup and followed it up with a layup of his own to open up a 6-point lead for the Chiefs.

With work from Meeks Moses Lake extended the lead to 10 and forced an Ike timeout with under five minutes to play in the half.

Garcia ended the half with a perfect trip to the line for the Chiefs to make it 36-27 at the break.

"The guys in the game and on the bench have been very unselfish," said Mayo.

Moses Lake opened the second half the way they closed the first — on the line. An Ike foul sent Walker to the line for two and after making both shots, Walker had extended the lead to 11 for the Chiefs.

The Cadets continued to battle for the Ike contingent on hand but were never able to recover from the early deficit with Moses Lake maintaining an 8-point lead or better through the third quarter and breaking the game wide open in the fourth beginning with a layup by Meeks on an assist from Baker.

Baker then earned a putback to continue the barrage of scoring by Moses Lake.

Meeks and Baker combined for 20 of the Chiefs' 24 points in the fourth quarter.

"Tonight was a great team effort," Mayo said.

The Chiefs were led by Meeks who had 18 points and 14 boards. Baker recorded 15 points and nine rebounds for Moses Lake. Guerra earned 13 points. Loera had 10 points and six assists. Walker had four assists and two steals. Garcia earned two steals.