Lions dominate Acorns

YAKIMA — Oakville hung in with the Lions in the first half but could not keep pace in the second.

Riggs Yarbro started the offense in the second half for the Lions with a layup to make it 28-17. Phillip Friehe continued the offensive pressure with a 3-ball and followed it up with a layup on a dish from Daniel Timofeyev.

The Lions played like they were on a mission after losing in the first round of the tournament.

"We finally got some transition baskets," said MLCA head coach Lonnie Brown. "That's how we play. We get a boost from our defense."

Timofeyev's defense on the ball resulted in eight steals and with four minutes gone in the third quarter, resulted in a bucket for the Lions. Sam Walker got the ball under the hoop and missed his initial shot but earned the putback to give Moses Lake a 9-point edge.

Despite committing enough fouls to put Oakville in the double bonus with nearly four minutes left in the third, Moses Lake continued to maintain an advantage on the scoreboard.

Adrian Moffett helped support that effort with a 3-point shot to give the Lions a 41-20 lead.

Friehe lit up the scoreboard for the final field goal of the period. The Moses Lake guard pulled up and drained a 3-ball in the face of his defender to give the Lions a 24-point advantage at the buzzer.

"Phillip starting outside shots against the zone," said Brown. "And you have to do that to win."

Taylor McNamara opened the scoring in the fourth quarter for Moses Lake with yet another 3-pointer. The lead was further extended by back-to-back layups from Travis Matzen and McNamara.

The Lions suffered one of the game's rare scoring droughts for MLCA, going nearly two minutes without a bucket. Josiah Meiners scored a layup to end the dry spell.

Andrew Gjefle added to the lead with a jumpshot and Moffett earned the last field goal of the game on a dish from Meiners.

"Tomorrow is a big day because if you win, you are guaranteed to take home a trophy," said Brown. "We're playing for pride now; pride and survival, every game might be your last."

Moses Lake began the game with a 7-0 scoring drive that included buckets from Walker, McNamara and Yarbro.

The Acorns battled back to tie the game at 11 at the end of the first quarter.

Moses Lake went on to outscore Oakville 15-4 in the second period.

Friehe led the team with 14 points. Yarbro recorded 12 points and 7 boards. Moffett scored 12 points. Timofeyev grabbed eight steals.