Lights out: Ephrata boys unstoppable against East Valley
File photoEphrata senior Ryan Lutz came up with one of his best games of the season on Friday, scoring 20 points in a 76-58 win over East Valley that qualified the Tigers for state.
Boys basketball recaps
TOPPENISH - When the Ephrata Tigers are as in synch as they were on Friday, not many teams are going to stop them.
Ephrata shot 59 percent from the field - 71 percent in the first half - to beat the East Valley Red Devils 76-58 in a Central Washington Athletic Conference district semifinal game.
The second-seeded Tigers (20-2) have clinched their first state tournament berth since 2002, and will face league champion Prosser on Saturday for the district championship. That game is at Sunnyside High School at 6 p.m.
"One of our keys was to get to the rim, get them in foul trouble and get up and down the floor to wear them out," Tigers coach Brandon Evenson said.
Ephrata did just that, hitting 25 of 37 times at the foul line. The Tigers led 20-10 after one quarter and never looked back, earning a 33-25 edge in rebounds and placing three players in double-digit scoring.
Senior guard Ryan Lutz was the Tigers' biggest catalyst, shooting 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range en route to a game-high 20 points. Patrick Simon scored 17 points, while Daniel Simon added 13 points and eight boards.
"Ryan Lutz had an outstanding offensive and defensive game," Evenson said. "They played a soft man (defense) on Lutz and really tried to harrass Pat and Daniel, so we had other kids step up."
Nate Morales led East Valley (17-6) with 19 points, Kevin Komstadius had 16 points and seven boards, and Jon Buchanan chipped in 11 points.
In Saturday's district title game, Evenson expects a brawl between the Tigers and Mustangs, who split their two regular-season meetings.
"We have five days to prepare, so we're going to slowly but surely get ready," the coach said. "They play a very strong man to man defense. It's going to be very physical and it's going to be a great game with two great teams going at it."
Lind-Ritzville 43, Reardan 41
SPOKANE - The Broncos earned the region's No. 3 seed to this week's 2B state tournament, fighting off a late rally from the Northeast League rival Indians in the process.
Lind-Ritzville (21-6 overall) opens state on Wednesday at Spokane Arena, facing Seattle Lutheran at 5:30 p.m. A win would put the Broncos in Thursday's quarterfinals against either Riverside Christian or Bear Creek School.
Against Reardan, the Broncos mounted a 24-17 halftime lead, only to see Reardan (22-5) slowly chip away at the lead over the second half. But Lind-Ritzville held on thanks to 18 points from Jamie Stevenson and eight from Alex Pfeifer. Both teams qualified for state.
Lind-Ritzville earned its state berth one night earlier, punishing the Wellpinit Redskins in the second half for a 64-51 triumph.
The Broncos got a game-high 28 points from Matt Saetre, 12 from Pfeifer and nine from Cory Whitmore. They led 35-32 at halftime, then gained control with a 15-7 run in the third quarter.
Wapato 82, Quincy 62
SELAH - The Jackrabbits' season came to an end in their CWAC district loser-out game with the Wolves, as seventh-seeded Quincy never got a handle on Wapato's Willie Blodgett, the conference's leading scorer.
Blodgett bludgeoned the Jacks for 39 points and nine 3-pointers, and sixth-seeded Wapato advanced to another loser-out contest on Thursday with Ellensburg.
Quincy's Eric Martin scored 15 points and teammate Jesse Gonzales added 12. The Jacks ended their year with a 7-15 overall record.