Ephrata boys clamp down in second half

Tigers limit Grandview to 24 percent shooting in second half, win 74-65

EPHRATA - Most folks know about the Ephrata Tigers' high-powered offense. But on Thursday night, it was Ephrata's defense that proved especially valuable.

The Tigers limited Grandview to 24 percent shooting in the second half, beating the Greyhounds 74-65 at a packed and rowdy Marty O'Brien Court.

Ephrata improved to 10-1 overall, 8-1 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play, and remain one game back of first-place Prosser heading into tonight's 7:30 p.m. game at Othello.

After the Greyhounds blistered the nets with a flurry of first-half 3-pointers, Ephrata head coach Brandon Evenson knew changes were in order.

"We came out in man (defense)," Evenson said. "We don't play man a lot, but I told the guys we had to do something different."

Grandview was 6 of 16 on 3-pointers during the first half, leading by as many as eight points before the Tigers responded for a three-point lead at the break. But the man-to-man approach worked as the Hounds were only 5 of 19 in the second half - just enough of a change to help Ephrata pull away.

The Tigers had few problems scoring, as they shot 52 percent from the floor. Senior Daniel Simon torched Grandview for a game-high 29 points and easily won the battle of leading scorers - Grandview star C.J. Lopez had only six points.

Lopez's only points came off a pair of 3 balls in the first quarter, helping the Hounds open a 17-12 cushion. Eric Rodriguez extended the lead to 20-12 with another trey, but Ephrata closed the half on a 25-14 spurt.

Derrick Webb buried his only points of the night - a trey from the right wing - to knot the score at 34-all. Then Daniel Simon banked in a 35-footer at the buzzer, giving the Tigers a 37-34 advantage.

"That got our confidence going," Evenson said of Simon's heave.

Ephrata led by as many as 12 points in the third period, a result of another change in philosophy.

"What we tried to do was attack the hole a little more," Evenson said. "We didn't get any free throws in the first half."

The Tigers hit 14 of 17 from the foul line over the final 16 minutes, and their 18-9 run in the third propelled them to victory.

Rogie Fajardo led Grandview with 16 points, while Rodriguez and Nick Sears each scored 12. Patrick Simon had 15 points for Ephrata and Ryan Lutz added 10.

The Tigers are focusing on a team-oriented approach as they begin the second half of the Central Washington Athletic Conference season. There's a lot of basketball to be played before the big showdown on Feb. 2, when Prosser visits O'Brien Court.

"We've just got to focus on the guys in front of us and hope Prosser gets tripped," Evenson said. "We'll worry about Prosser when we get to them. We're playing great team ball, and I think that's a big key.

"If someone takes one guy away, we've got to have another step up," he added. "On any given night, we could have any one of our 12 guys in double digits."

Grandview 17 17 9 22 - 65

Ephrata 12 25 18 19 - 74

Grandview (65): Sears 12, Lopez 6, Fajardo 16, Jimenez 0, Hernandez 9, Concienne 2, Rodriguez 12, Magana 0, Guillen 6, Garza 2, Ramirez 0.

Ephrata (74): Frank 0, Lange 5, D. Buchert 0, Wash 0, Lutz 10, R. Buchert 6, Tinnell 0, Webb 3, D. Simon 29, Curnutt 4, P. Simon 15, Miller 2.