Tigers still seek initial victory

EPHRATA - Falling behind by double digits early, the Ephrata

Tigers could not recover on Tuesday night against visiting

Ellensburg.

Ellensburg 69, EPHRATA 42

EPHRATA - Falling behind by double digits early, the Ephrata Tigers could not recover on Tuesday night against visiting Ellensburg.

The guest Bulldogs led 23-8 at the end of the first quarter and 36-15 by halftime en route to a 69-42 win in Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) play.

Tanner Williams led Ephrata (0-8, 0-6) with 13 points.

Toppenish 68, OTHELLO  58

TOPPENISH - A close game at halftime slowly went the way of a Toppenish 10-point win over the Othello Huskies on Tuesday evening.

Othello dropped a 68-58 decision despite the play of Caleb Garza who scored 20 points in the CWAC contest.

The Huskies (3-4, 1-4) also got 12 points from Sam Para and 10 points from D.J. Cantu.

Wapato 76, QUINCY 60

WAPATO -  Breaking out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter, the Wapato Wolves took control early and cruised to a 76-60 win over the Quincy Jacks on Tuesday night.

Quincy (3-4, 1-4) cut the deficit to 27-25 by halftime but that effort may have cost them some legs as the host Wolves built the lead back up after intermission with a 27-point third quarter.

Mario Martinez led Quincy with 17 points and Luke Grigg chipped in with 15 points.

ROYAL 67, Kittitas 52

ROYAL CITY - It sure is nice to head into the holiday break with a Christmas stocking stuffed with recent wins.

The Royal Knights won their second game in three outings with a solid 67-52 win over Kittitas on Tuesday.

Royal (2-5) led 19-13 after the first quarter and then built the cushion to 38-23 by halftime.

"The big difference for us was free-throws and turnovers," Royal head coach Pete Christensen said. "We were 24 for 36 at the line and we cut our turnovers by over ten, as we only had 15.  We are moving in a good direction and needed a game to build on.

Reed Lefler led Royal with 14 points while Danny Vermeer ended up with 13 points, Kent Christensen poured in 11 points, and Abel Castellon racked up 10 points.

Wilbur/Creston 51, SOAP LAKE 43

WILBUR - Soap Lake's Eagles dropped to 1-3 on the season with a 51-43 loss at Wilbur-Creston on Tuesday.

David Coreas scored 25 points for the Eagles in the loss.

ACH 71, Manson 39

WENATCHEE - After a poor first quarter showing, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors got their act in gear just in time to remain unbeaten on the season.

Trailing 18-13 after the game's first eight minutes, ACH (7-0) stormed back against Manson to take a 28-24 halftime lead and then broke the game open with a 27-8 stretch over the third quarter on their way to a 71-39 win.

Derek Isaak scored 22 points, Brandon Boutain added 14 points, and Thunder Wellhausen finished with 11 points as the Warriors made a good show of their appearance in the NCW Prep Showcase.