Warriors need two wins to stay alive in playoffs

DEER PARK — It will now take two wins for the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors to qualify for a 1B state tournament berth after they dropped a tough 69-67 decision to second-ranked Wellpinit (20-3) in the semifinals of the District 7 Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Deer Park High Schoo..

ACH (14-8) trailed 36-29 at halftime before beginning their comeback that fell just short.

“I feel like its the first game in 10 games that my kids did not play with great energy,” ACH coach Scott Isaak said. “We played like a deer in headlights and you can’t play like that and expect a state berth. We got annihilated on the offensive glass and that’s the first time in a long time that’s happened to us.”

ACH was led by Cody Jess’s 22 points while Derek Isaak added 21 points.

Kody Dillon chipped in with 12 points for ACH who will battle Inchellium (16-7) on Wednesday l in a consolation semifinal at 5 p.m.

A win, and the Warriors would play on Saturday for a trip to Yakima.

“It makes things really easy now, either you win or you go home,” Scott Isaak said. “I think we’ll match up fine but that is irrelevant at this stage. Either you come and play or you go home. So it’s irrelevant how I feel about it. Either we will be happy with the results or we won’t.”

Moses Lake Christian Academy 48, Mansfield 44

MANSFIELD — A tough four-point win at Mansfield, combined with a Columbia Basin Secondary loss to Pateros on Friday, gave Moses Lake Christian Academy a final second place finish in the 1B North Central Washington league.

Stefan McNamara scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lions (X) who broke away from a 30-all tie going into the final quarter.

“It was a battle from the first through four quarters with both teams making small runs to watch the other team answer the call,” Lions coach Duke Wood said.”This was a great test for us before districts begin (tonight).”

The Lions’ biggest lead was six points - 24-18 at halftime.

Joe Timofeyev added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jonny Roberts grabbed eight rebounds.

“It was nice to finally win a game in the fourth quarter after struggling most of the year trying to finish a team off in the end,” Wood said. “We have been very close in the big games and could never get over the hump. I believe some of this has to do with the inexperience of the players, having watched the upperclassmen make the plays and big shots in crunch time, and now they are being called upon to make those plays and shots.” 

The Lions goes up against Columbia Basin Secondary (X) in the first game of the North Central Washington League District tournament today at 1:30 p.m. at Wenatchee High School.

Both teams will play Thursday regardless of outcome.

Pateros takes on Mansfield in the other district opener.

Two teams from the four team tournament advance to the 1B state tournament in Yakima.

“I think that all four teams have a shot at the two spots for State,” Wood said. “Any of these teams can beat each other on any given night.  Not one team in this league has really sent a message that they are a step ahead of everybody else.”

Ephrata 79, East Valley 43

YAKIMA — Behind the 20 points and 15 rebound effort of Mark Novik, the Ephrata Tigers remained in first place of the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) with a 79-43 win against East Valley on Friday.

Patrick Simon added 16 points and nine blocked shots as the second-ranked Tigers (16-1, 15-1) enter the last week of the regular season with a two game lead over Wapato.

The two teams face off in Ephrata on Friday night.

Wapato won the first meeting between the two teams back in January.

Ross Buchert and Randall Tupling each scored 11 points.

One win in their last two games will clinch the CWAC title outright for the Tigers.

Quincy 66, Wapato 53

QUINCY — Just in time.

The Quincy Jacks continue their late push for a CWAC district playoff spot as they upset league challengers Wapato 66-53 on Saturday night.

Quincy’s second-straight win this week moves them into the eighth and final playoff spot with two games left to play.

The Jacks (4-14, 4-12) lead Othello by one full game in the standings but by virtue of their sweep of the Huskies, Quincy need to win only one of their last two games to clinch a district playoff berth.

Braulio Lopez scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds for Quincy, who led 18-6 after the first quarter an held of Wapato the rest of the way.

Jay Cedargreen added 19 points and nine rebounds. for Quincy.

Pateros 49, Columbia Basin Secondary 37

MOSES LAKE — Pateros completed an unbeaten run through the 1B North Central Washington League with a 49-37 win at Columbia Basin Secondary on Friday night.

No other details were available at press time.