Othello Huskies win CWAC opener

OTHELLO — It took a little longer to get their season off the ground but the Othello Huskies opened up their boys basketball season on Friday with an emphatic 64-46 win over Prosser in a Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) win.

Othello came out hot taking a 15-7 lead in the game’s first eight minutes.

Coach Pete Patitucci said he believes the late start date for his club may have been a benefit in the long run.

“It helped us because 18 of our 23 players are football players and all five starters are football players,” he said. “They were pretty fired up to play. They had been out there practicing and were excited for the first game. It was a good crowd and everyone was into the game.”

Othello (1-0) used a blistering performance in the second quarter — a 20-9 margin — to lead by 19 at halftime and essentially put the game on ice.

The Huskies, who led by 31 in the third quarter were able to give their reserves plenty of minutes according to Patitucci.

David Charles led Othello with 21 points and nine steals and DJ Cantu had 15 points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots in his first varsity game.

“If DJ continues to play that way we’re going to be tough,” Patitucci said. “He’s an inside threat.”

The Huskies hope their quickness and speed continue to play a big part in their potential success as the season heats up.

“For our first game out I was very pleased,” Patitucci said. “You got to be ready to play every night and that is something we have to keep emphasizing.”

Gonzaga Prep 91, Moses Lake 39

SPOKANE — Moses Lake fell to 0-6 on the season with a 91-39 loss at 4A powers Gonzaga Prep.

The Chiefs trailed only 15-9 at the end of the first quarter before the Pups went on a 23-9 spree over the next eight minutes to build a 20-point lead at halftime.

Gonzaga Prep (3-0) would outscore Moses Lake 28-6 in the third quarter en route to the victory.

The Chiefs were led by Tyler Raymond’s 13 points and Matt Franz’s 11 points.

On Friday, the Chiefs fell at home to Eisenhower (Yakima) 64-49.

The visiting Cadets (4-1) came back from a 29-26 halftime deficit to deny the Chiefs their first win of the season.

Eisenhower put the game away by outscoring Moses Lake 21-7 in the fourth quarter.

Franz had 16 points while Raymond added 10 for Moses Lake.

Ephrata 56, Ellensburg 38

ELLENSBURG — A convincing 56-38 win for the Ephrata Tigers propelled them to 1-0 in CWAC play on Friday night.

Ephrata (3-0 overall) trailed Ellensburg 8-7 in the first quarter before their offense got into gear with a 23 point second-quarter barrage.

The team beat Chelan in overtime earlier in the week.

“I think our legs were really tired from Tuesday night and it was a very physical and mental game that wore us out,” Tigers’ coach Brandon Evenson said. “It took us some time to settle down and run what we had to run.”

Ross Buchert led Ephrata with 21 points, Mark Novik added 10 points, Patrick Simon had a consistent eight points eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while Randall Tupling pitched in with seven rebounds.

Evenson said it was the explosive second quarter that set the tone for the remainder of the game.

“We were finding the openings,” he said. “Ross had 13 points in the second quarter and that really got us rolling a little bit. We had to wait out the wave and then take care of our side of it.”

Ephrata held Ellensburg to 16 points and 20 percent shooting in the second half in their first ever win in four games over the past three years at the new Ellensburg gym.

Cascade 73, Quincy 49

WENATCHEE — The Quincy Jacks took two on the chin this weekend, dropping a 73-49 loss to Cascade at the Toyota Center North Central Washington Basketball Showcase on Saturday afternoon and losing 60-42 at Selah the night before.

Against Cascade, the Jacks (0-3) surrendered 12 three-point shots and lost their shooting touch to lose its third straight game.

“They pretty much put it to us,” Quincy coach Wade Petersen said. “They caught fire and we were giving them easy shots. Playing a back-to-back we got tired toward the end..”

Luke Grigg had 14 points and six rebounds and Jay Cedergreen had 10 points and nine rebounds for Quincy.

At Selah, Quincy fell behind 35-18 at halftime in the loss.

Grigg had 12 points and Cedergreen 10 points and seven rebounds to pace the Jacks.

“Our defense has been real poor and that’s something we try to hang our hat on,” Petersen said. “These last couple of games here we gave up way too many points. We just need to keep plugging along at it and make improvements where it counts so we can be prepared for the rest of the year.”