Tigers take down Quincy as Phoenix rise

EPHRATA — A rivalry it was shaping up to be.

But then with about four minutes left in the first quarter reality reared its ugly head.

The Ephrata Tigers took command of their rivals Quincy on Saturday night and ran away with a 74-25 win over the Jacks.

The Tigers (10-0, 8-0 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play) struggled a bit in the first quarter before their size, depth, and speed took over.

They led 21-7 after the first quarter.

“I thought the boys came out with real good focus and pretty good passion,” Tigers’ coach Brandon Evenson said. “I thought we played an overall great game for us.”

Quincy (1-9, 1-7) were not taken lightly by the second-ranked team in Class 2A.

“In this rivalry the underdog comes out and gives a nudge and does so for the whole game,” Evenson said. “But the guys matched that and wore Quincy down for the whole game.”

Ephrata built their lead to 36-12 at halftime and continued to pad the lead, holding a 56-21 edge after three quarters.

“I told my coaching staff that early in the game we were playing the game we wanted to play,” Quincy coach Wade Petersen said. “We knew we had to rely on the perimeter game since we knew it would be tough to get the ball inside.

“We didn’t get much going to the basket and we knew that going in that they had some big guys protected the basket who could block some shots. They are a good team and are real solid. We are still a ways off from competing at that level.

Quincy shot 18 percent from the field and shot only two free throws to Ephrata’s 30 all night.

Patrick Simon scored 23 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and had five assists for Ephrata while Randall Tupling added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Ross Buchert had 10 points and four assists, while Mark Novik provided 12 points for the winners.

“The neat thing about this group of kids is that they love being together and they love playing basketball,” Evenson said. “When it’s a 40-point game and the crowd is cheering loud they are playing as hard as they did at the tip. They love playing they are seniors and understand its their last chance.”

Ephrata defeated Othello 81-55 in a Friday road game while Quincy came into the contest off a 63-36 loss at Wapato that same night.

“We have the same goals we had at the beginning to get to districts,” Petersen said. “There is still a lot of season left to play. As crazy as it sound after being beat by 50 to Ephrata I am still excited about my team and where we can go. We will see soon if my excitement is right.”

Columbia Basin Secondary 48, Moses Lake Christian Academy 43

MOSES LAKE — Making history is now…

History.

The Columbia Basin Secondary School Phoenix defeated the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lions 48-43 on Saturday to record their first-ever win over their rivals.

In order to do so, Columbia Basin Secondary (6-3, 4-1 in 1B North Central Washington) overcame a 26-17 halftime deficit via a 21-2 third quarter to turn the tables.

“I went into the locker room saying it wasn’t 16 or 18 points so it’d be easier to make a comeback,” Columbia Basin Secondary coach James Shank said. “I said let’s just try to tie it at the end of the third quarter and get into a dogfight. We ended up being up 10 and were still in a dogfight. I never in my wildest dreams we’d have a 21-2 quarter.”

Lions coach Duke Wood was searching for answers for the disappointing eight minutes of play.

“The name of the game is to put the ball in the basket and we were standing in the ocean and couldn’t put it in the ocean,” Wood said. “You have to play four quarters. In that third quarter we wouldn’t beat a third-grade AAU girls team. Nothing against CBSS because they kicked out butts. They crushed us on the boards, ran us up and down the floor and did everything that counted.”

The Academy (8-3, 5-2) made a late run behind the play of Isaac Murrell (13 points), Joe Timofeyev (12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists), and Jonny Roberts (10 points and 11 rebounds), before falling short.

“They have a little hardship with (Stefan) McNamara out and had trouble with Murrell in foul trouble,” Shank said, “I told them to keep attacking the rim and that good things would happen. We just had to keep shooting and block out on the boards. The kids started to believe they could beat Moses Lake Christian.”

McNamara, who had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the teams’ first encounter, is out until February due to academics.

Josh Conner led the Phoenix with 15 points and David Cantu scored 11 points in the win.

“The kids put the game on their shoulders and said they weren’t going to lose this game,” Shank said. “Those Christian Academy kids played hard to the end. It was a great game to just sit and watch. Both teams had a lot of dignity, class, and a heart.”