Chiefs go to wire against Panthers

Wenatchee 67, Moses Lake 66

MOSES LAKE — In a game that saw the Chiefs down to open the fourth quarter, it came down to one shot with one second on the clock.

Moses Lake's Ryan Carpenter put his team up 66-65 with a second effort layup with 22 seconds remaining in the game.

Wenatchee answered with a bucket of their own to jump ahead by one and the Chiefs were unable to answer with a last second jump shot from the outside.

The Chiefs battled back from a 4-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to get in a position to take the last shot of the game with Quinn Baker earning Moses Lake's first field goal of the period on a turn around jumper to cut the lead in half.

The Panthers pushed the lead to five with a completed and-1 opportunity with under six minutes to play.

Baker was able to answer with an and-1 of his own on the next trip downcourt to make it a 52-50 ball game before fouling out with five minutes left in the game.

With Baker on the bench Casey Secrist saw some meaningful minutes near the end of the game, including scoring two points from the free throw line to keep the Chiefs within striking distance.

Wenatchee continued to keep the score just out of reach for much of the quarter, always having an answer for Moses Lake's offensive efforts.

The Chiefs opened the game with a 17-15 lead to end the first quarter.

Josh Loera scored Moses Lake's first field goal of the second period nearly three minutes into the quarter, draining a 3-ball from the top of the arc and followed it up with a drive to the hoop on the next trip downcourt.

The scoring drought allowed for the Chiefs' lead to disappear but the scoring efforts of Loera closed the gap to two.

With under two minutes to play in the half, Jared Walker earned a three of his own to make it a 28-27 game. On the next trip downcourt it was Tyson Garcia's turn to light the scoreboard up with a 3-pointer to help Moses Lake maintain the 1-point deficit.

A putback by Loera to end the half gave the Chiefs a 1-point lead going into the locker room at the half.

Moses Lake suffered another scoring drought at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring their first bucket near the five-minute mark on a jump shot by BJ Guerra.

Cody Meeks connected with Loera for a drive to the hoop to make it 45-41 in Wenatchee's favor.

Meeks led the team with 19 points and nine boards. Loera earned 17 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Baker recorded 11 points.

Moses Lake head coach Brant Mayo was unavailable for comment after the game.