Moses Lake Christian rolls into semifinals

YAKIMA, Wash. — The top-ranked Moses Lake Christian Academy Lions continued their run through the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 1B boys state playoffs Thursday night with a 60-43 win over Curlew.

Moses Lake Christian head coach Lonnie Brown said his team came together Thursday night.

“It was another team effort,” he said.

Moses Lake Christian senior Riggs Yarbro dominated the Cougars Thursday night on his way to a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds to record the double-double — 10 of Yarbro’s 15 rebounds came off of the offensive glass.

The Lions pounced on a 17-11 first quarter lead, but the Cougars clawed their way back in the second quarter to close the Moses Lake Christian advantage to  26-24 heading into the break.

Moses Lake Christian worked to extend their lead in the third quarter with the help from Adrian Moffet and Isaac Murrel. Moffet scored 15 points in the win and Murrell added 11 points, nine coming form behind the 3-point arc.

With Curlew hoping to close in on the Lions in the fourth quarter, Yarbro and Moses Lake Christian put the game away with a 21-8 run to close out the contest.

The Lions outrebounded the Cougars 41-27 and Moses Lake Christian senior Tim Gjefle played smothering defense for the Lions.

“Tim Gjefle did a nice job on their best scorer,” he said. “He held (Ethan) Mannick to just three points.”

With the win over Curlew, Moses Lake Christian can finish no worse than sixth at the 1B state tournament. The Lions finished in third place last season.

The Lions return to the court Friday night at the Yakima SunDome against the Cusick  Panthers.

The opening tip of the Lions’ semifinal game is scheduled for 8 p.m.