Lions avenge losses to Entiat, place third
Courtesy photoThe Moses Lake Christian boys hoist their third-place trophy in Yakima on Saturday after beating the Entiat Tigers 62-58 in double overtime.
1B state basketball recaps
YAKIMA - Twice during the regular season and once more in the district playoffs, the Entiat Tigers proved too much for the Moses Lake Christian boys to handle.
But in Saturday's 1B state tournament matchup at the SunDome, the Lions put forth something extra, knocking off their rivals 62-58 in double overtime to earn the third-place trophy.
Moses Lake Christian, which lost 81-52 and 58-51 to Entiat during the league season, and 57-46 at districts, lost its chance at the state title a night earlier in a 42-37 setback to Tekoa-Oakesdale. But the Lions didn't stay down for long, and several players made key contributions in Saturday's victory.
"It was awesome," Lions coach Lonny Brown said. "The kids just played with all heart. The three seniors, we could not ask any more of them. They just played great games and showed great leadership throughout."
Senior point guard Kameron Firouzi had four clutch free throws in the second overtime. Firouzi finished with 12 points and was 6 for 6 at the line, and added five steals and two assists.
Fellow seniors Jesse Bassett and Taylor Sandberg also came through. Bassett had nine points and was 6 of 6 on foul shots, while Sandberg collected 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Lions were an impressive 27 of 34 on free throws.
Despite a poor third quarter in which Entiat (21-3) erased a six-point deficit, Moses Lake Christian (17-7) had a chance to win at the end of regulation. But junior Adrian Moffet, who scored a game-high 25 points, missed the front end of a one-and-one.
The Tigers got two free throws from Kevin Arnold late in the first overtime to tie the game at 53-53.
"The kids, again, they just kind of gutted it out and made some plays when they had to," Brown explained.
Entiat's Leonardo Quezada had 15 points, with teammates Dylan Crawley and Jacob Anderson each scoring 13 and Tomas Whitehall adding 11.
In Friday's semifinals, Moses Lake Christian led early against Tekoa-Oakesdale. But the Nighthawks took over in the second and third periods, and a 15-8 surge for the Lions in the fourth quarter fell short.
"It was a gut-wrencher for us," Brown said. "It wasn't like we didn't have chances. We just missed some shots."
The Nighthawks, who lost Saturday's championship game in overtime to Sunnyside Christian, got 21 points and 11 rebounds from Brandon Hovde. Kelly Cook chipped in nine points, two assists and two steals.
Moffet scored 20 for the Lions, and nailed a pair of 3-pointers that ignited the fourth-quarter rally. But Moffet was only 8 of 25 from the floor, and the Lions shot only 29 percent (15 of 51) as a team.
Moses Lake Christian had only two regulars back from last season's eighth-place state finisher, so a third-place trophy this time was a pleasant surprise. Brown credited varsity newcomers Isaac Murrell and Stefan McNamara, along with co-captains Firouzi and Bassett, for clutch efforts.
"They went way above and beyond expectations," he said. "Jesse Bassett and Kameron Firouzi were just great all-around leaders on and off the floor. When it comes down to crunch time and you have to make plays, you have to rely on your seniors.
Entiat 10 17 12 9 5 5 -58
MLCA 13 20 6 9 5 9 -62
Entiat (58) - Perez 1-1 0-0 2, Quezada 5-17 1-2 15, Anderson 4-12, 2-5 13, Nelson 0-1 2-2, 2, R. Whitehall 0-0 0-0 0, Paz 0-3 0-0 0, Arnold 0-6 2-2 2, Crawley 4-15 5-5 13, T. Whitehall 4-8 3-5 11, Avelar 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-65 15-21 58.
MLCA (62) - Moffet 8-24 7-10 25, Gjefle 0-1 0-0 0, Bassett 1-6 6-6 9, Sandberg 3-8 7-10 13, Firouzi 2-7 6-6 12, McNamara 1-1 0-0 2, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Murrell 0-6 1-2 1. Totals 15-53 27-34 62.
3-pointers: Entiat 7-24 (Quezada 4-13, Anderson 3-5, Crawley 0-1, Paz 0-2, Arnold 0-3), MLCA 5-19 (Firouzi 2-3, Moffet 2-10, Bassett 1-2, Murrell 0-4). Rebounds: Entiat 52 (Crawley 16, Anderson 7), MLCA 39 (Moffet 13, Sandberg 13). Assists: Entiat 7 (Quezada 3), MLCA 6 (Firouzi 2). Steals: Entiat 12 (Anderson 4), MLCA 12 (Firouzi 5, Sandberg 4). Blocked shots: Entiat 1, MLCA 5 (Bassett 2, Sandberg 2). Fouled out: Anderson, Arnold, Crawley. Total fouls: Entiat 28, MLCA 17. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: Entiat 17, MLCA 16.
MLCA 9 7 6 15 - 37
T-O 5 13 16 8 -42
MLCA (37) - Moffet 8-25 1-2 20, Gjefle 1-2 0-0 2, Bassett 0-4 0-2 0, Sandberg 1-4 0-0 2, Firouzi 2-6 0-0 5, McNamara 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Murrell 3-10 0-0 8, Timofeyev 0-0 0-0, 0. Totals 15-51 1-4 37.
T-O (42) - K. Cook 3-11 0-0 9, Young 0-1 0-0 0, C. Cook 0-4 0-2 0, Hovde 9-12 1-2 21, VanSlyke 0-2 1-2, 1, Tampien 2-10 1-2 7, Hinkins 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 16-44 3-8 42.
3-pointers: MLCA 6-22 (Moffet 3-11, Murrell 2-7, Firouzi 1-3, Bassett 0-1), T-O 7-20 (K. Cook 3-9, Hovde 2-2, Tampien 2-7, C. Cook 0-2). Rebounds: MLCA 31 (Moffet 8), T-O 37 (Hovde 11). Assists: MLCA 4, T-0 11 (Tampien 5). Steals: MLCA 2, T-0 4 (K. Cook 2). Blocked shots: MLCA 2 (Moffet 2), T-0 1. Fouled out: Bassett. Total fouls: MLCA 14, T-O 3. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: MLCA 8, T-O 12.
Liberty Christian 48, Odessa 42
YAKIMA - The Tigers ended their season one win short of a state trophy, as the Patriots bounced them out of the tourney on Friday.
Odessa (12-12) started slowly, trailing 17-7 after one quarter, and never fully recovered. The Tigers struggled with their shooting stroke, finishing 17 of 52 (33 percent) from the field and 3 of 14 from 3-point range.
Liberty Christian, which went on to place fifth, got 23 points and seven rebounds from Mark Wilson, while teammate Jeremy Siefken scored 15.
James Glenn hit on 6 of 10 shots and had 17 points for the Tigers. Travis Todd scored nine, though he was only 4 of 16 shooting, and Travis King pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
LC 17 9 9 13 -48
Odessa 7 13 12 10 -42
LC (48) - Nash 0-2 0-0 0, Stratton 1-4 2-4 4, Wilson 9-12 4-9 23, Siefken 5-17 4-6 15, Howard 2-5 2-4 6, Groth 0-1 0-0 0, Lane 0-0, 0-0, 0. Totals 17-41 12-23 48.
Odessa (42) - Glenn 6-10 3-5 17, Palmer 0-4 0-0 0, B. Todd 3-8 0-0 7, T. King 2-10 0-0 4, Bruya 1-3 1-2 3, Read 1-1 0-0 2, T. Todd 4-16 1-1 9. Totals 17-52 5-8 42.
3-pointers: LC 2-10 (Wilson 1-3, Siefken 1-6, Nash 0-1), Odessa 3-14 (Glenn 2-2, B. Todd 1-4, Palmer 0-2, T. Todd 0-6). Rebounds: LC 33 (Stratton 9, Wilson 7), Odessa 36 (King 10, T. Todd 7). Assists: LC 5, Odessa 5 (Glenn 3). Steals: LC 7 (Stratton 3), Odessa 8 (T. Todd 3, B. Todd 3). Blocked shots: LC 6 (Howard 3), Odessa 2. Fouled out: None. Total fouls: LC 8, Odessa 17. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: LC 13, Odessa 16.
Pateros 45, ACH 35
YAKIMA - The Lady Warriors saw their season come to an end on Friday, as their offense went dry in a 10-point defeat to the Nannies.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline (12-13) shot only 13 of 53 from the field and 6 of 16 on free throws, while Pateros extended its season by outscoring the Warriors 26-13 over the second and third quarters.
Pateros, which placed seventh, got three 3-pointers and a game-high 18 points from Clara Hull. Teammates Diana Batson and Rachel Beardslee each scored eight points, and the Nannies overcame 23 turnovers for the victory.
ACH's Breanna Martin had nine points and 10 rebounds, while leading scorer Sarah Gloyn managed only seven points on 2 of 13 shooting.
ACH 9 9 4 13 -35
Pateros 6 15 11 13 -45
ACH (35) - Starkenburg 2-3 0-0 5, Bodeau 1-5 0-2 3, Gloyn 2-13 2-5 7, Edwards 1-1 0-2 2, N. Osborne 2-4 0-0 4, Martin 4-17 1-3 9, Porterfield 1-10 1-2 3, M. Osborne 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 13-53 6-16 35.
Pateros (45) - Batson 3-4 0-0 8, Bruno 1-7 1-2 3, Beardslee 3-9 0-0 8, Taylor 3-7 0-0 6, Hull 4-10, 7-13 18, Cook 1-1 0-0 2, Mattson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-38 8-15 45.
3-pointers: ACH 3-16 (Starkenburg 1-2, Bodeau 1-4, Gloyn 1-8, Martin 1-2), Pateros 7-15 (Hull 3-7, Beardslee 2-2, Batson 2-3, Bruno 0-3). Rebounds: ACH 35 (Martin 10, Gloyn 6), Pateros 38 (Hull 9). Assists: ACH 4 (N. Osborne 3), Pateros 9 (Bruno 3). Steals: ACH 10 (N. Osborne 4), Pateros 5 (Beardslee 2). Blocked shots: ACH 0, Pateros 3. Fouled out: Porterfield, Taylor. Total fouls: ACH 16, Pateros 18. Technical fouls: ACH bench. Turnovers: ACH 14, Pateros 23.
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