ACH, Columbia Basin record victories

COULEE CITY — Bouncing back from a tough loss to Northwest Christian on Tuesday, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline boys basketball team found its rhythm late on Thursday and held on to defeat Soap Lake 74-62.

But the win for the Warriors didn’t come easy as ACH (3-2) held on to a 38-37 lead at halftime against the scrappy Eagles squad.

“I felt it was a really fast-paced, sloppy game,” ACH coach Scott Isaak said. “We had 16 turnovers for the game and we did not settle down and be patient offensively until the sixth minute mark of the fourth quarter. When we did we were at control at that point.”

Before that Soap Lake (0-4) managed to keep within striking range at 55-51 with eight minutes left in the game.

“We play well but we need to work on closing a game out,” Eagles coach Bill Pierce said. “We went cold in the second half but ACH play’s good defense too. Shots we were making in the first half we started missing.”

Derek Isaak led ACH with 32 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while Brandon Boutain pitched in with 13 points, Kody Dillion added 12 points and Chad Carlquist recorded nine points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

Soap Lake was led by Kyler Moats’ 15 points, David Coreas’ 14 points, and Alex Overall who added 13 points.

“They shot the three very well in the first half, they went nuts,” Scott Isaak said. “Coreas hit four threes in the first half and Overall had two, so that right there is 18 points.”

Even though ACH came out victors, coach Isaak took note of Soap Lake as both teams ended their evenings going in different directions.

“The loss against Northwest Christian our boys were playing hard and I would say we bounced back real well,” Scott Isaak said. “But look at Soap Lake. They’ve lost to some good teams and they are a sleeper. Soap Lake’s going to play some people and beat them.”

Columbia Basin Secondary 58, Cascade Christian 50

MOSES LAKE — As Columbia Basin Secondary School makes it push to be considered as one of the better teams in 1B boys basketball they have to start somewhere.

Where they began this season’s journey came Thursday night as The Phoenix took their opening 1B North Central Washington contest of the year with a 58-50 win over Cascade Christian of Wenatchee.

“They came out with a very strong team,” Columbia Basin Secondary coach James Shank said. “They put a press on us and we eventually were able to break it. They kept pounding it inside taking advantage of their size and strength.”

The Phoenix (3-0, 1-0) led 25-23 at halftime and slowly built their lead to six after three quarters before the final margin became official.

“We were able to hit some big threes” Shank said. “Eric Curtiss hit some big shots for us and that opened things up for us to penetrate to the basket.”

Curtiss scored 25 points and added five rebounds, while David Cantu recorded 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

“Obviously the win is huge,” Shank said. “Anytime you get a win at home especially against Cascade Christian who is up-and-coming, it’s big. We took it on the chin a couple of times and kept coming right back up. It’s a pleasure to coach these kids because they play so dang hard.”

Riverview 51, Royal 49

RIVERVIEW — Royal held a 13-point road halftime lead before succumbing 51-49 in a last-minute stunner.

The Knights (3-3) scored only three points in the second half, allowing the hosts to make the comeback.

No other details were available.