Soap Lake holds off Kittitas

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake boys basketball team played a nearly flawless third quarter Tuesday night and turned a 19-19 halftime tie into a 42-21 fourth quarter advantage to knock off visiting Kittitas.

The Eagles overcame a sluggish start and a frustrating first quarter to hold off a tenacious Coyotes team 54-42 at home.

Soap Lake began the game going 2-for-10 from the floor in the first 8 minutes Tuesday night and the Eagles fell behind 8-5 by the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles would persevere as the game progressed, overcoming poor shooting in the first quarter to sink three of their first four to begin the second.

With a hot start to the second quarter the Eagles turned an 8-5 deficit into an 11-8 advantage.

After the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, the Coyotes responded with a 4-0 run for a 12-11 Kittitas lead.

The rivals continued to battle back-and-forth in the second quarter as the teams entered the locker room knotted at 19-19.

Soap Lake head coach Bill Pierce said his team struggled at times in the first half.

“At times it wasn’t good,” he said. “We are a fast-paced team and they slowed us down.”

The Coyotes would not slow the Soap Lake attack in the third quarter.

The Eagles found their rhythm after the break by going on a 23-2 run.

Soap Lake left little doubt in the third quarter as they pressured the Kittitas offense to commit turnover after turnover.

Soap Lake continued to dominate the third quarter, igniting the home-town crowd with every basket.

The Eagles defense pressured the Coyotes throughout the third quarter and Soap Lake kept Kittitas scoreless for 7 minutes and 58 seconds to take a 42-19 lead.

Kittitas broke its scoring drought with 2 seconds left in the third quarter, but the damage was already done.

“It was a good quarter,” Pierce said of his team’s performance following halftime.

With the game nearly out of reach, the Coyotes persisted, cutting a 23-point deficit down to nine points with 2 minutes remaining. However, the Eagles would fly as they held on for the home victory.

Despite a lackluster third quarter, Pierce was impressed Kittitas.

“They never gave up,” he said. “They could have rolled over.”

Although his team came away with the victory, the Eagles need to improve their free-throw shooting.

“We have to make our free throws,” he said. “Free throws are the things that lose games.”

The Eagles finished 9-for-22 from the charity stripe Tuesday night.

Even though his team needs to improve, Pierce was happy to get the win.

“It’s gonna help build our confidence,” he said. “We are a young team.”