Moses Lake season ends at regionals

KENNEWICK — Moses Lake battled the Cadets to the end Saturday.

Cody Meeks opened the fourth quarter with a putback for the Chiefs, cutting the Eisenhower lead to three.

A turnover by the Cadets was converted into a layup by Quinn Baker to make it 45-44 with five minutes remaining in the game. BJ Guerra evened the game at 46 with another layup.

Ike briefly regained the lead before Guerra earned another layup to tie it up again, but Josh Loera hit a 3-ball and gave Moses Lake a 51-50 lead with less than three minutes left in the ball game.

The Cadets took the lead again, this time from the foul line after Baker snagged an Ike player with 1:45 left. Eisenhower took another two points from the line to make it 54-51.

Guerra earned the Chiefs' last point, going 1-for-2 from the line.

Eisenhower added one more bucket to defeat the Chiefs 56-52.

"We wanted to control Drew Harris and I think at times we did a good job of it," said Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo. "I'm very proud of our seniors. They went out fighting and scratching til the last minute. Some of those kids have been with me a long time and they're like family."

Moses Lake started out the game falling behind by four but came back with a jumper from Meeks and a layup by Baker on an assist from Tyson Garcia.

The Cadets pulled away again but the Chiefs were able to catch up again and pass up Eisenhower. Loera earned the lead for Moses Lake with a converted and-1 and a 3-ball on a pass from Baker.

The Chiefs extended their lead with a 1-for-2 effort from Ben Waites at the line. Waites followed up the free throws with a long jump shot to make it 13-8.

Meeks ended the first quarter with a 3-pointer and went into the break with a 7-point lead. Jarred Walker extended the lead with another 3-point shot to push the Moses Lake lead to 10.

After establishing the lead, the Chiefs relaxed their pressure on the offensive end and allowed Eisenhower to get back into the ball game with an 8-0 run before it was cut short by Meeks who gained a putback to make it 23-19.

With two minutes left in the half, the Cadets regained the lead and extended it to four before the second quarter ended.

"We had a successful season," said Mayo. "Any time we can get to regionals, we're doing a good job."

The Chiefs defeated Wenatchee in a Columbia Basin League matchup Friday night to qualify for their game against Eisenhower.

Both teams battled through the first quarter. Meeks opened up a lead for the Chiefs with a turnaround jumper and a converted and-1 to take a 9-4 lead.

The Panthers battled back and took a 11-9 lead to end the period.

Waites forced a Wenatchee turnover to begin the second quarter and finished the effort with a jump shot to tie the game.

Ryan Carpenter hit a 3-ball to take a 3-point lead and had it extended by a converted and-1 by Baker. The Chiefs continued to press their lead with a three from Garcia, making it 22-13.

Loera helped Moses Lake maintain the lead with a steal and layup with three minutes left in the half.

Wenatchee battled back to take a 30-29 lead. Meeks hit a 3-ball at the buzzer to give the Chiefs a 2-point lead at the break.

The Chiefs opened the third by relinquishing the lead and falling behind 45-37. Baker earned a layup with under two minutes to play in the period to cut the lead to six.

In the fourth quarter it was Moses Lake's turn to play catch-up and they did, tying the at 51 and again at 53 with back-to-back steals of Wenatchee inbound passes — the first by Loera and the second by Baker.

Guerra gave the Chiefs the lead with under a minute to play, hitting a layup in the paint.

Moses Lake was able to hold on and win 57-53.