Moses Lake boys give coach win

by Derrick Pacheco<br>Herald Sports Editor
| January 5, 2009 8:00 PM

HANFORD, Wash. — The Moses Lake Chiefs gave their head coach Rolland Hansen a birthday present he could cherish Friday night — a 69-64 victory over the Hanford Falcons.

Hansen, who celebrated his 48th birthday Friday night, said it felt good to get the win.

“You don’t want to lose on your birthday,” he said.

Moses Lake senior Josh Loera helped close out the game for the Chiefs when he stole the ball from Hanford and scored on his layup attempt with 12.1 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 68-64 lead.

The Falcons couldn’t score in the game’s final seconds as the Chiefs won their second consecutive game of the season and improved to 4-5.

Loera had a big night, scoring 28 points and pulling in 11 rebounds to record the double-double.

Moses Lake built a 21-13 lead over the Falcons in the first quarter. The Chiefs continued to push ahead of Hanford, building a 12-point advantage early in the second quarter.

With a double-digit lead, the Chiefs couldn’t add to their advantage as a stingy Hanford defense kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard for more than 5 minutes. The Falcons rallied to take a 30-29 lead into the half.

“We struggled offensively a few times,” Hansen said.

The Falcons kept the pressure on Moses Lake as the hometown team built a 47-42 lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Chiefs kicked off the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run as Moses Lake erased their five-point deficit and built a five-point advantage of their own midway through the final quarter.

Hanford rallied to tie the game 60-60 with a litte more than 2 minutes left to play, but Moses Lake senior Isaac Bergeson put the Chiefs ahead 63-60 on Moses Lake’s next possession.

With the Chiefs leading 66-64 with less than 20 seconds left in the contest, Loera intercepted the Hanford inbounds pass and drove to the hoop to clinch the win for his team and his coach.

Bergeson finished the night with a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

“Isaac had a solid game,” Hansen said. “We have been expecting him to step up.”