Simon overpowering in Ephrata romp

QUINCY - Ephrata basketball star Patrick Simon - who has already made headlines for his verbal commitment to Washington State University - got a little ribbing from his teammates recently.

Friday night, the 6-foot-7 sophomore was the one laughing and grinning from ear-to-ear, as Simon crushed the Quincy Jackrabbits for 37 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots in the Tigers' 61-42 Central Washington Athletic Conference victory.

A week earlier, Simon tried to dunk the ball in a blowout win over Selah and barely got the ball over the rim. He had a similar chance with 2 minutes left on Friday, and slammed the ball home with some authority.

"It was weak," Simon said of his previous attempt. "Tonight I just had my legs under me a little better."

To say the least. Simon was easily the game's most dominant player, befuddling the Jacks with an assortment of 3-point bombs, pull-up 15-footers and tenacious work inside the paint.

"We tried to be aware of where he was and he just got loose against our zone too many times," Quincy head coach Wade Petersen said. "They've got a lot of weapons and it's not like you can just focus on Patrick. It's tough to cover them all at once."

Simon scored 12 points as Ephrata led 29-20 at halftime, but was just warming up. He scored 25 of the Tigers' 32 second-half points, including their first 10 points of the third period and 12 in a row to start the fourth. He was 14 of 22 from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.

"That's how we expect him to play and I think he's getting more confidence," Ephrata head coach Brandon Evenson said. "He's just a young kid. He's learning his way and tonight he showed what he can do."

Ephrata (14-2 overall, 12-2 CWAC) didn't need big games from anyone else, as leading scorer Daniel Simon posted a pedestrian 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting, the only other Tiger in double figures. However, Evenson singled out senior reserve Kory Frank for some solid minutes, particularly on defense.

"He gave us 17 solid minutes and did what he had to do to help us in a time of need," Evenson said of Frank. "Ryan Lutz went out in the second half with a hurt nose, and that's why Kory had to step up and play more than usual."

Quincy (6-10, 4-10) stayed close throughout the first half behind a patient attack featuring Eric Martin and Cory Keller. Martin, the Jacks' leading scorer, hit a pair of treys to close the third quarter, leaving Quincy only six points back with eight minutes left.

But Patrick Simon owned the remainder of the game, and Ephrata's defense held Martin and Keller to only three points combined in the fourth. Keller finished with 14 points on 4 of 5 from long range, while Martin shot 3 of 7 from outside and had 13 points.

"That enabled us to stay in the game," Petersen said of his team's outside shooting. "Usually you live and die by the 3-pointer and in the end it didn't work out."

Evenson felt his players were properly prepared for Quincy's approach - slowing the game down and taking high-percentage shots.

"They're always patient and we worked on that all week," he said. "We just got to make sure we rebound their misses and run our stuff when we get it."

Patrick Simon noted the team's strong mindset prior to an even bigger game on Saturday again league-leading Prosser.

"It's a rivalry game - we always feel pumped up," he said. "I didn't think I was going to get a lot of open looks. I figured everybody would be keying on me. In the second half we just got on a huge run, got a whole lot of momentum and just threw them off."

Saturday

Ephrata 54, Prosser 40

EPHRATA - The Tigers handed the Mustangs their first CWAC loss, avenging an earlier defeat by giving Prosser a taste of its own medicine.

Ephrata's offense stalled in a 75-60 loss on Jan. 4, but Prosser was only 17 of 50 (34 percent) from the floor in the rematch, helping the Tigers assume control in the second half.

The Tigers built on a 25-19 halftime lead with 16-13 run in the third, then cemented things with a 13-8 flourish in the fourth. Daniel Simon led all scorers with 22 points, while Patrick Simon and Derrick Webb tossed in eight apiece. Cody Bruns had 19 points and Kellen Crawford tallied 15 for Prosser.

Ephrata is only one game back of Prosser with four to play, and looks to keep momentum going this Friday at Wapato. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Quincy 52, Othello 46

OTHELLO - In a key battle for the CWAC's final playoff spot, Quincy took a one-game edge over Othello as Jesse Gonzales poured in a game-high 17 points.

The Jacks trailed 28-26 at the half, but went on an 18-6 surge in the third period. Martin scored 11 points, with Chase Webley adding nine and Jay Cedergreen adding seven. The Huskies got 16 points from Jakob Scott, 14 from Judah Gowan and nine from Gabe Cantu in the loss.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., Quincy heads to Grandview and Othello goes to Prosser.