Lions ground Eagles

Defense rules night for Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The Lions handed Soap Lake their second loss in league play Tuesday, routing the Eagles 71-31.

"That's a pretty good basketball team," said Soap Lake head coach Eric Nielsen after the game.

It took a mere two minutes for the Lions to settle into playing tough defense and fast-paced offense. Once the scoring started, Moses Lake made going strong to the hoop look easy.

"The kids played awesome," said Moses Lake head coach Lonnie Brown. "It was a total team defensive effort. We got the lead early and then defended it for the rest of the game."

David Timofeyev scored the first points of the ball game for Moses Lake, making a layup and tying the game at 2 with seven minutes left to play in the first quarter. It was the last time Soap Lake would be able to keep the score close.

Josh Munoz scored the only 3-ball of the night and opened up a five point lead on the Eagles. Munoz continued to produce scoring opportunities, going strong to the basket and getting the score and the foul. Munoz finished off the 3-point play and pushed the lead to eight.

The six minute Soap Lake scoring drought was broken when Riggs Yarbro fouled Micah LaPlante and sent LaPlante to the line. LaPlante went 1-for-2.

Munoz had two more jump shots for the Lions before the quarter ended. The second bucket made it 17-3.

Casey Hudson followed Munoz's jump shots with a layup on a fastbreak to make it a 16-point lead.

LaPlante was able to squeeze in a layup just before the buzzer for Soap Lake.

Moses Lake continued to press their advantage in the second quarter.

Daniel Timofeyev earned a steal and hoop with seven minutes left in the half and forced Soap Lake to take a timeout.

Soap Lake's Derek Dalley scored a layup to make it a 20-point ball game with four minutes left in the half.

The Eagles put Hudson on the line twice in as many trips down the floor. Hudson made the first two shots and went 1-for-2 during his second stop at the line to make it 32-7.

Moses Lake's Sam Walker scored the last points of the half at the freethrow line. Walker went 2-for-2 in the bonus after being fouled by LaPlante.

The Lions went into the halftime locker room up 38-10.

After the halftime break, Moses Lake stretched the lead to 30 and never looked back.

"Our goal was to take LaPlante and Guzman out of the game offensively," said Brown. "We did that."

Soap Lake: Brad Hitzroth led the team with 10 points. LaPlante had seven points and five rebounds.

Moses Lake: Yarbro and Munoz led the team with 17 points and six rebounds each. Walker had 10 points and eight rebounds. Philip Friehe and David Timofeyev had eight points each.