Royal boys bear down, down Bears in must-win contest
Prep basketball recaps
ROYAL CITY - Michael Hebdon's double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds helped the Royal Knights to one of their biggest wins of the season on Thursday night.
Needing a win over the visiting Kiona-Benton Bears on Senior Night to stay in the hunt for the SCAC East's final playoff spot, the Knights got it with a 52-42 triumph. Royal (6-11 overall, 4-8 division) is assured of at least tying for fifth place with Wahluke, and if the Warriors lose their game tonight with Columbia-Burbank, the Knights would avoid a Saturday tiebreaker game.
"We've just really been playing great defense," Royal coach Jason Bafus said. "Our defensive pressure just wore them out.
"Offensively, we pounded the ball inside and got some good shots."
Blair Collins supported Hebdon's big night with 12 points and four assists. Colt Brown scored nine, while Marc Albertson added two steals and two blocked shots. Chris Curtis was the Bears' high man with 13 points, Junior Gonzalez scored 10 and Hector Quinones added eight.
Royal used a 10-3 spurt in the second to gain a 25-19 edge at halftime, then put the Bears away with a 14-7 run in the fourth.
If the Knights win the East's fifth seed outright, they'd play Saturday at the West's fourth seed - either Goldendale, Mabton or Zillah.
Soap Lake 47, Manson 43
SOAP LAKE - The Eagles went out on top on Senior Night, overcoming a dreadful start to down the Trojans in North Central 2B League play.
Manson led 12-2 after one quarter, but the Eagles got right back into it with a 17-8 spurt in the second period and took the lead for good with a 15-10 run in the third.
Marcos Delgado scored 23 points for Soap Lake, while Kyler Moats had 14 points and nine rebounds. Taylor Baughman dished out four assists and Zach Allen had a team-high three steals.
Soap Lake finishes the regular season tonight at 7:30 p.m. with a road game against the Waterville Shockers.
Pasco 66, Moses Lake 53
PASCO - The Chiefs' faint hopes of a playoff berth were quickly washed away in a horrendous first period against the Bulldogs.
Pasco jumped to a 26-5 lead after eight minutes and held off a fourth-quarter rally to win the Columbia Basin League regular-season finale for both squads. Moses Lake needed a win to have any chance of catching Davis for the sixth and final playoff spot, but its season ends at 5-15 overall, 2-10 in league.
"It was the same thing as the other night (against Richland) - we just could not hit a shot," Chiefs coach Rolland Hansen said.
Gavin Gilmore had a huge first period Pasco en route to a game-high 23 points, and teammate Adrian Andrade added 20. Michael Olaniyan paced the Chiefs with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Josh Loera scored 16.
River View 62, Warden 35
WARDEN - The Cougars ended their season with a good effort, but it wasn't enough to upset the Panthers, one of the state's top 10 teams in Class 1A.
River View shot 50 percent from the field and limited Warden to 27 percent - pretty much the story of the game in Warden coach Wes Richins' mind.
"It was closer than the final score said," Richins noted. "In the third, we had it cut down to a four-point game.
"Actually, I was really proud of my boys. That's a tough game to end your season on, against a state-ranked team coming in."
The Panthers exploded for 22 points in the fourth period to pull away. Trevor Baker led them with 16 points and Tim Reynolds added 11.
Erik Montejano and and Ben Bisnett scored eight apiece for the Cougars (1-19 overall, 0-12 SCAC East). Bisnett grabbed five rebounds and Ben Shuler had four assists.
Northwest Christian 55, Lind-Ritzville 43
SPOKANE - The Broncos missed out on their first chance to qualify for regionals despite a strong game from Alex Pfeifer.
Pfeifer led Lind-Ritzville (17-4) overall with 19 points, but was the only Bronco in double digits. Jamie Stevenson had seven points, while Cory Whitmore and Matt Saetre chipped in six apiece.
Bi-County League champion Northwest Christian (20-1) trailed 11-10 after one quarter before slowly building a lead over the final three periods.
Lind-Ritzville will try to solidify its regional berth on Friday against the Wellpinit Redskins (14-8). That game takes place at Spokane Falls Community College at 3 p.m.
Soap Lake 43, Manson 41
SOAP LAKE - Chelsea Allen sank a four-footer with 1 second left on the clock, lifting the host Eagles to victory over the visiting Trojans on Thursday night.
The win kept Soap Lake in sole possession of second place in the North Central 2B standings, 8-3 in league and 12-7 overall. The Eagles can wrap up that distinction with a win tonight at Waterville (6 p.m.).
"That was a huge win for us," Eagles coach Tony Blankenship said.
Tanya Babak posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Soap Lake. Ariel Wernex scored 10, while Michelle Marthini had six points and 13 boards.
Kiona-Benton 63, Royal 55
ROYAL CITY - The Lady Knights are the fifth seed out of the SCAC East, but they didn't go into the playoffs the way they wanted to.
The visiting Bears spoiled Senior Night activities at Royal, destroying the Knights' 45-38 lead entering the fourth quarter with a 25-10 run.
"We outplayed them through three quarters," Royal coach Maria Lefler said. "They just couldn't miss in the fourth quarter."
Royal had a 28-21 lead at halftime, but the Bears' Sara Vannoy - one of the league's top scorers - took over and finished with a game-high 28 points. Riley Cannon added 16 points, and Kiona-Benton made 18 of its 23 free throws.
Tawnee Gonzales paced the Knights with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. Leslie Brown scored 11, Katrina Werlinger scored eight and Kelcy Jansen chipped in seven points and five assists.
Royal (9-10, 5-7) will play at SCAC West No. 4 seed Highland on Saturday, a 6 p.m. start. The loser is out, while the winner advances to the double-elimination portion of the district playoffs.
River View 59, Warden 42
WARDEN - The Lady Cougars could've tied Royal for the fifth seed, but fell to the Panthers and ended their season.
Kelsey Garner led Warden with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brandi Kisler also had 10 rebounds, while Amanda Martinez and Emma Bisnett scored seven points apiece. The Cougars end their season at 5-15 overall, 4-8 in league.
St. George's 41,
Lind-Ritzville 32
SPOKANE - The Lady Broncos (17-4) fell to the Dragons (20-2) in the Northeast 2B district playoffs, never mustering more than 10 points in any quarter.
St. George's led 16-14 at halftime and never allowed Lind-Ritzville's offense to heat up. Danielle Sackmann had a team-high nine points for the Broncos, with Laura Cain scoring seven and Emmy Bouwman adding six.
The Dragons are assured of a spot at regionals. Lind-Ritzville still has a chance to qualify and will play again on Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College against the winner of tonight's Wilbur-Creston and Liberty game. Saturday's contest starts at 4 p.m.
ACH 54, Curlew 37
HARTLINE - The Lady Warriors advanced to the Northeast 1B district championship game by scoring 18 of the final 23 points against the Cougars.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline (10-11) trailed 26-24 at the half before a 12-6 run in the third quarter put it in front to stay. Sarah Gloyn led all scorers with 19 points, while Alyssa Bodeau scored 11 and Nikki Osborne added 10.
The Warriors face the Cusick Panthers (15-5) for the district title on Friday at 7 p.m. at Deer Park High School. The winner earns the No. 1 seed to state, while the loser has the chance to get the No. 2 seed on Saturday.