Lions maul defending champions

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy Lions led for all but 30 seconds Tuesday night as they dismantled the Sunnyside Christian Knights 72-50 at home.

The defending Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s 1B boys basketball champion Knights took an early 2-0 lead after Sunnyside Christian won the opening tip and scored on their first possession.

The Lions responded to tie the game 2-2 before a smothering Moses Lake Christian defense and a potent offense propelled the Lions past the Knights. Moses Lake Christian scored 21 points Tuesday night off of 16 Sunnyside Christian turnovers.

Moses Lake Christian head coach Lonnie Brown was proud of the way his team played against the defending champions.

“It was an all-around good game,” he said. “They are a good team to beat. They are the defending state champions and they have a lot of pride.”

Moses Lake Christian pressured the Knights in the first quarter and the Lions took a 15-9 lead over the defending champions. The Lions began the second quarter with a 7-0 run and Moses Lake Christian began to pull away.

The Lions continued to attack the basket in the second quarter pushing a six-point first quarter lead into an 18-point advantage when Moses Lake Christian took a 36-18 lead into halftime.

Moses Lake Christian’s defense was smothering in the first half, keeping Sunnyside Christian from reaching double digits in each of the first two quarters.

The Lions slowed offensively in the third quarter and the Knights battled their way back to close the gap at 39-26. The 13-point Moses Lake Christian lead was as close as the Knights would get in the second half as the Lions pushed their way to a 47-31 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Moses Lake Christian got some important defensive stops down the stretch and Brown said senior Tim Gjefle is a big reason why.

“Tim Gjefle is becoming our defensive stopper,” he said. “He does a good job. All of these kids are buying into the defense and they are coming out and playing a great team concept. We are shutting teams down and that is what it is going to take.”

Moses Lake Christian began the fourth quarter the same way they did the second, with a 7-0 run. Moses Lake Christian eventually took a 30-point advantage in the fourth quarter when they took a 65-35 lead over the defending champions.

Moses Lake Christian senior Riggs Yarbro said his team played great basketball in Tuesday night’s win.

“We executed well and we played well,” he said. “I am glad with where we are at right now.”

The Knights fought valiantly to close the deficit, but the 30-point Moses Lake Christian lead proved to be too much for Sunnyside Christian to overcome and the Lions knocked off the Knights for the first time in three chances.

Moses Lake Christian senior Adrian Moffet said it felt good to finally beat Sunnyside Christian.

“We lost to them two years in a row and it kind of hurt every time,” he said. “It feels good to finally beat them.”

The Lions held Sunnyside Christian to 18 first-half points and Brown said his team is playing effectively on defense.

“The kids came out and did it on the defensive end, again,” he said. “We have been priding ourselves in playing good, solid defense. The last few games we have really come out and executed on the defensive end.”

Moffet finished the game with 29 points, including 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc and 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. Yarbro recorded a double-double when he finished with 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Brown said he is glad his team got the victory Tuesday night, but his and his team’s focus is on Pateros.

“(The win over Sunnyside Christian) shows us where we are at,” he said. “We have a long way to go, but our main focus is Pateros Friday night. If we beat Pateros Friday night we will be the league champions.”

The Lions return to the court Friday night when they travel to Pateros to take on the Billygoats. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.