Chiefs claim first win while Tigers go 4-0
Alan Dale/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Moses Lake's Gabe Porter finds his way to the rim as he helped the Chiefs to their first victory of the year on Friday night.
Moses Lake 52, Wenatchee 49; Othello 54, Toppenish 52; Warden 43, Kiona-Benton 41
MOSES LAKE — It’s about time.
After a tough pre-season schedule the Moses Lake Chiefs but those lessons to good use on Friday night as they held off rivals Wenatchee 52-49 in both teams’ Big Nine Columbia Division opener.
In an up-and-down battle, the Chiefs (1-6, 1-0) came back from a 27-21 halftime deficit and held off a late Panthers’ rally to secure their first win.
“It’s hard when you start 0-6 and had a couple of losses we could have pulled off,” Moses Lake junior guard Matt Franz said. “This was a way to start fresh. We needed a win to build our confidence.”
Franz led the Chiefs with 26 points while Gabe Porter added 12 points and Tyler Raymond provided 11 points. The rest of the roster combined for a total of three points.
“We didn’t need it tonight but it would be nice to have six or seven guys scoring,” Chiefs’ coach Rolland Hansen said.
Instead of folding the tents after halftime the Chiefs came out going after the Panthers (0-6, 0-1) to slowly whittle at the deficit.
A Raymond lay-up and a Franz three-pointer gave the Chiefs a 39-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter the teams traded proverbial punches until Franz broke ties at 47 and 49 with crucial jumpers and a Porter free throw kept Wenatchee from making a final comeback.
“We kept our spirits up because we knew we could beat them, it was that simple,” Franz said.
Ephrata 76, Selah 67
EPHRATA — A scrappy Selah squad didn’t have enough guns to overcome a talented and determined Ephrata Tigers bunch as the hosts pulled out a 76-67 win.
The Tigers (4-0, 2-0 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play) were led by Patrick Simon’s 21 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, and three blocked shots, while Ross Buchert added 18 points and eight assists.
“It was a tough battle all the way around,” Tigers’ coach Brandon Evenson said. “Both teams came out and played good basketball. It was a good win for us since Selah is a quality team.”
Despite the win Evenson was not as pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
Nick Longmire for Selah led all scorers with 28 points.
Ephrata’s Mark Novik added 15 points while Randall Tupling popped in 12 points.
Othello 54, Toppenish 52
OTHELLO — Huskies pride showed bright on Friday night as Othello stormed back from a 42-33 deficit at the end of three quarters to pull of the CWAC win 54-52.
David Charles finished the game with 11 points while Jeremy Cerrillo led the Huskies with 14 points.
Warden 43, Kiona-Benton 41
WARDEN — The Warden Cougars’ basketball team almost stole defeat from the hands of victory and thankfully they failed.
Holding a 10-point lead late, the Cougars (2-3, 1-0) went scoreless over the last three minutes allowing Kiona-Benton a chance to tie twice at the end of regulation but an Eric Bates blocked shot sealed the 43-41 win for Warden.
Ty Jesse scored 19 points, Bates added 14 points, and Jon Burkholder contributed 11 points for Warden.