Senior night success

Chiefs celebrate final home game with victory

MOSES LAKE — What do you do with eight seniors on the same team?

You play them all in their final regular season game at Moses Lake High School. The Chiefs defeated Walla Walla 56-48 despite being outscored in two quarters Tuesday.

"We all know what needs to be done and there's equal support from everyone," said Ryan Carpenter. "We are all leaders."

Those leaders include Carpenter, Quinn Baker, Ben Waites, Seth Bruneel, Tyson Garcia, Daunta Powell, BJ Guerra and Casey Secrist.

That shared leadership was no more apparent than in the first quarter against the Blue Devils, with Moses Lake holding Walla Walla to just one field goal in eight minutes.

"I think we came out strong in the first half, especially on defense," said Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo. "I'm very happy about 14 assists and seven turnovers. It says we're being unselfish with the ball and still taking care of it."

Cody Meeks sparked the Chiefs' offense, finding Baker underneath the hoop for a layup in the early going and adding to it with 6 points of his own. Meeks' unselfish play continued as he found Carpenter for a layup on a fastbreak to put the Chiefs up 10-2.

Baker converted an and-1 for the final points of the quarter.

"You know everyone's strengths and there is a lot of team chemistry," said Baker.

To open the second quarter Secrist found Waites for a layup. Waites' bucket was followed by a dish from Josh Loera to Secrist for a layup and a putback by Loera to give Moses Lake a 20-10 margin.

Powell, who has seen little playing time this season came in and drained a long jump shot midway through the second period.

"Practicing with the team helps out those who play and I want to help my teammates get better," said Powell earlier this season.

Baker found Guerra for a layup late in the period to give the Chiefs a 7-point lead. Meeks finished out the field goals in the half with a blocked shot that turned into a layup.

Guerra opened the second half with a putback for Moses Lake and gave the Chiefs a 28-17 lead early in the third.

Meeks followed it up with back-to-back field goals, hitting one of only two 3-balls on the night and then hitting an off the dribble jumper at the top of the key.

Secrist earned his final points of the night converting an and-1 opportunity with just over a minute remaining in the third. The 3-point play helped the Chiefs hold off a charging Blue Devils team that put up 17 points in the third quarter.

Loera earned a steal and bucket to being the final period of the game and put Moses Lake up 9. Jared Walker hit the Chiefs' other 3-pointer of the night on the next offensive possession for Moses Lake to make it 46-34 with just under six minutes left to play.

The Chiefs pulled away with Loera and Meeks combining for Moses Lake's final 10 points in the game.

"I hope Josh, Cody and Jared can mold this team next year," said Garcia.

Guerra summed up the Chiefs' situation best saying, "We trust each other to do our jobs. It lets you do your job and not worry about whether or not someone else is doing their job."

The Chiefs have ridden their abundant leadership to a 14-6 finish on the season and will play either Saturday or Tuesday depending upon how Pasco finishes out their season Thursday.

Meeks led the team with 17 points and 8 boards. Loera put up 10 points, pulled down 5 rebounds and snagged 4 steals. Walker, Baker and Guerra earned 6 points each with Guerra grabbing 5 boards.