Ephrata boys return to form with dusting of Red Devils
Boys basketball recaps
YAKIMA - The general trend for the Ephrata boys has been, so go the Simon brothers, so goes the team.
The Simon brothers were overpowering on Saturday night, combining for 47 points and 16 rebounds as the Tigers stayed within striking distance of conference-leading Prosser with a 70-56 victory at East Valley.
Senior Daniel Simon finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Patrick Simon added 22 points and seven rebounds. That was enough to offset the play of East Valley's Kevin Komstadius, who led the Red Devils with 24 points and eight boards.
Derrick Webb had 10 points and Ryan Lutz added nine for Ephrata. Nate Morales and Josh Hansen both had 10 for East Valley.
Ephrata (9-1 overall, 7-1 Central Washington Athletic Conference) led 25-15 after one quarter, then surged ahead 52-35 going to the fourth.
Davis 78, Moses Lake 71
MOSES LAKE - The Chiefs remained winless in Columbia Basin League action, losing a fourth-quarter lead to the visiting Pirates.
Moses Lake (3-8 overall, 0-3 league) led 55-50 with eight minutes remaining, but Davis outscored the Chiefs 28-16 down the stretch.
Josh Loera paced four Chiefs in double figures with 26 points. Michael Olaniyan had 13 points, with Scott Moberg and Jarred Walker adding 10 apiece.
Javary Elmore led all scorers with 30 points and added six assists for Davis. Jordan Starr scored 25 and Les Henderson added 15.
Moses Lake tries to regroup Friday when it goes to Richland at 7:30 p.m.
Toppenish 67, Othello 65
OTHELLO - The Huskies got big games from nearly everyone, but fell to a hot-shooting Wildcats team in CWAC action.
Othello, which finished at 46 percent from the field, led 51-46 after three quarters. Toppenish couldn't be stopped on offense, finishing 24 of 39 (62 percent) from the field.
The Wildcats' Ramon Ramirez led all scorers with 21 points. Gabe Cantu had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Othello, while Jeremy Cerillo also had 14 points. Jakob Scott had 12 points, Judah Gowan had 11, and Roman Pruneda added 10 for the Huskies.
The Huskies host rival Ephrata on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Selah 53, Quincy 51
SELAH - A back-and-forth affair came down to the final seconds, where Selah's Trevor Dallman swished a 15-foot jumper to beat the Jackrabbits for a CWAC victory.
Eric Martin led the Jacks with 18 points and Cory Keller added 10, but Quincy couldn't contain Selah's Kyle Washut, who scored a game-high 24 points. Brett Dodeward added seven points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings.
Quincy hosts the East Valley Red Devils on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Reardan 56, Lind-Ritzville 48
RITZVILLE - The Broncos came storming back in the fourth period, but couldn't overcome the Indians' hot start in a Bi-County League contest.
Reardan led 17-7 after one quarter and 30-21 at halftime before Lind-Ritzville (11-3 overall, 7-3 league) went on a 21-14 run down the stretch.
The Indians (13-1, 9-1) maintained their hold on second place in the league.
Jamie Stevenson paced the Broncos with 17 points and Shane Olson chipped in with 10.
Lind-Ritzville plays at Valley Christian in Spokane on Tuesday, a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Northwest Christian 71, Odessa 42
ODESSA - The league-leading Crusaders were far too much for the Tigers to handle in a Bi-County League matchup.
Northwest Christian (12-1 overall, 9-0 league) led 14-3 after one quarter, 33-12 at halftime and 56-22 after three quarters.
Bryce Todd led the Tigers (5-6, 3-6) with 13 points and James Glenn added nine.
Odessa hits the road on Tuesday, playing a non-league game at Soap Lake. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Ephrata 52, Toppenish 51
TOPPENISH - The Tigers survived a huge scare from the Wildcats, who outscored them 23-13 in the fourth quarter before falling in CWAC action.
Ephrata had seemingly taken control with a 13-4 surge in the third quarter that left the Tigers ahead 39-28. But Toppenish, which has just one conference victory to its credit, came storming back behind 19 points from Roman Ramirez and 16 from Raymond Ramirez.
Patrick Simon scored a game-high 19 points for Ephrata, Kory Frank scored 10, and Daniel Simon added eight.
Othello 61, Wapato 55
WAPATO - The Huskies took charge of their CWAC contest with the Wolves in the fourth quarter.
Roman Pruneda, who tied for the team lead with 17 points, hit 9 of his 10 free-throw attempts in the fourth as Othello held on. Judah Gowan also scored 17 points, while Jeremy Cerillo drilled five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.
Othello hit 11 of its 26 long-range attempts. Jakob Scott added five points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies, and Pruneda had five assists and three steals.
Lind-Ritzville 65, Odessa 46
ODESSA - The Broncos managed a split of their weekend series in the Bi-County League, scoring at least 15 points in every period to defeat the Tigers.
Lind-Ritzville's Alex Pfeifer was the game's leading scorer with 16 points. Jamie Stevenson added 12 and Cory Whitmore had 11.
Bryce Todd paced Odessa with 13 points, while four players - Ryan King, Aaron Bruya, Andy Read and James Glenn - all scored seven.
Moses Lake Christian 82, Columbia Basin Secondary 44
MOSES LAKE - The Lions outmatched the Phoenix in a non-league game, outscoring them 24-4 in the second quarter to take charge.
Moses Lake Christian shot 63 percent from the field while limiting Columbia Basin Secondary to 28 percent. Adrian Moffet had an amazing game for the Lions, scoring 35 points on 16 of 23 from the floor.
Isaac Murrell added 16 points and Taylor Sandberg had 12 for the Lions, while Stephan McNamara grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Marcos Essex led the Phoenix with 23 points, hitting 10 of 11 field-goal tries. Jordan Flores added 10 points, but the Phoenix were victims of 23 turnovers.
The Lions play at Pateros on Friday, a 7:30 p.m. start.
Eisenhower 72, Moses Lake 58
YAKIMA - Another big game from Josh Loera wasn't enough to save the Chiefs in a CBL loss to the Cadets.
Eisenhower had five players finish in double figures, with Jordan Elmo and James Lopez scoring 15 points each. Loera led all scorers with 27 points, but leading scorer Michael Olaniyan managed just eight and Moses Lake trailed 42-22 at the break after a huge second-quarter run from Eisenhower.
Ellensburg 69, Quincy 29
QUINCY - The Jackrabbits never got going at either end of the court, surrendering 45 second-half points to the Bulldogs in a CWAC defeat.
Quincy's offense wasn't good in the first half, but the Jacks were still in the game at halftime, trailing 24-15. That changed in the third quarter as Ellensburg erupted for a 26-9 surge and put things away.
Eric Martin paced the Jacks (4-6 overall, 2-6 CWAC) with 10 points and Cory Keller added seven.
Liberty Bell 55, Soap Lake 23
WINTHROP - The Mountain Lions stayed in the driver's seat of North Central League play, walloping the visiting Eagles.
Soap Lake (2-8 overall, 0-3) league didn't score more than six points in any period and its only double-figure scorer was Marcos Delgado with 11. Liberty Bell (10-2, 3-0) had four players in double figures and led 40-11 at halftime.
Soap Lake hosts Odessa on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in a non-league outing.
Kiona-Benton 57, Warden 45
BENTON CITY - The Cougars remained winless in South Central Athletic Conference East Division play, falling behind 28-18 at halftime.
The Bears, who earned their first SCAC East win, got a game-high 18 points from Angel Mendoza. Warden's Ben Bisnett had 17 points and Kevin Whitaker added 12.
Warden hosts the Connell Eagles on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Wahluke 65, Royal 55
ROYAL CITY - The Knights were coming off their first SCAC East win just three days earlier, but couldn't keep momentum going against the Warriors.
Neither team shot the ball well, with Royal finishing 21 of 64 from the floor and Wahluke going 22 of 64. But the Warriors separated themselves during the third quarter, outscoring the Knights 24-15.
Juan De La Garza paced Wahluke with 22 points. Marc Albertson had 14 points and four blocked shots for Royal, and Michael Hebdon added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Royal travels to Kiona-Benton on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Wilbur-Creston 59, Almira/Coulee-Hartline 46
WILBUR - The Warriors' struggles in Bi-County League action continued as they couldn't keep up with a high-powered Wildcats' lineup.
ACH (3-10 overall, 2-7 league) fell behind 27-16 at halftime, rallied within eight after three quarters, but couldn't climb the mountain.
Brandon Boutain led three Warriors in double figures with 15 points. Kyle Tucker added 13 and Garrett Jess had 10.
ACH faces Davenport on Tuesday in Hartline, a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.