Chiefs ground Bombers

Moses Lake 58, Richland 42

MOSES LAKE — The Chiefs held Richland scoreless in the first quarter Saturday.

"Tonight we came out well on defense," said Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo. "To hold a team scoreless in a quarter is fantastic."

Josh Loera dished one of his four assists on the night to Quinn Baker for an early layup and followed up the play with a steal for another layup to make it 4-0 with four minutes left in the first quarter.

Moses Lake's defense continued to pressure Richland, giving Loera an opportunity for another bucket on a putback to extend the lead.

Cody Meeks made it an 8-point game with a pull-up jumper in the key and followed it with a layup on the next trip downcourt to make it 10-0.

As play resumed to begin the second quarter, Meeks' scoring resumed as well with a jumper off the dribble.

Ben Waites got his first bucket of the night, throwing up a baseline shot before hitting the deck with under five minutes to play in the half.

Both teams suffered a spate of turnovers with Moses Lake committing two back-to-back and Richland committing two, on as an offensive foul, leading to a nearly two-minute scoring drought.

Loera connected with Tyson Garcia to end the drought and push Moses Lake's lead to 14.

Richland scored 10 unanswered points to push through the final minutes of the half and cut the Chiefs' lead to five.

Meeks finished out Moses Lake's scoring for the half with a 2-for-2 trip to the line but had his points erased by a final bucket from the Bombers to end the half with 20-15 on the scoreboard.

"We relaxed in the second quarter, like we do," said Mayo.

Baker opened the second half with a bank shot from the bottom of the key and had it followed up by a steal and layup from Loera, pushing the lead back to 9 points.

Meeks earned a putback to give Moses Lake a 27-19 lead with five minutes to play and sparked a scoring barrage for the Chiefs.

Baker put up a shot, followed by another steal and layup from Loera. The drive was capped off by a third effort putback by Baker to give Moses Lake a 12-point lead with time winding down in the third quarter.

Meeks put up another layup on a pass from Baker. Then Baker found his way to the hoop for back-to-back buckets to end the third period.

"I think we came back and played well in the second half," Mayo said.

Jared Walker opened the second quarter with a layup on a fastbreak pass from Loera to make it 43-30.

Loera continued to spread the scoring wealth, finding Waites for a layup on the next trip downcourt, before draining a 3-ball of his own.

Two minutes later it was Meeks' turn to hit a three, he then followed it up with a jumper.

Moses Lake's final 3-pointer of the night came from Seth Bruneel in the corner and sealed the Chiefs' win, extending the lead to 22 with two minutes to play.

Daunte Powell finished off the field goals for Moses Lake with a putback.

Meeks led the team with 17 points and 11 boards. Loera earned 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals for Moses Lake. Baker put up 11 points for the Chiefs.