Tigers drop CWAC final on last-second Wapato heave

SUNNYSIDE — A hot shooting Wapato Wolves made just enough three-pointers to keep up with the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) regular season champion Ephrata Tigers on Saturday night.

But it was the last one which put them over the hump.

Wapato’s Jacoby Howe hit a three-pointer from halfcourt as the buzzer sounded giving Wapato a 78-76 win over Ephrata in the CWAC District Tournament Championship game.

Wapato made 14 three pointers in the game.

Ephrata’s (19-2) only losses this season were to Wapato.

“It’s basketball,” Tigers coach Brandon Evenson said. “A half-court shot beats you but we shouldn’t have been in that position if we ha taken care of biz early. The guys scraped and clawed all night. You’ve got to give it to Wapato they played well. It was a fun atmosphere but we wish we could have been on the other of the result.”

Ephrata fell despite the 39-point effort of Tiger senior Patrick Simon, who put his team up from with 4.4 seconds left with a free throw before Howe’s heroics.

“They shot the ball very well and we were off,” Evenson said. “It was a combination because both teams played hard. Wapato really came out to play.”

Randall Tupling added 13 points and Mark Novik added 12 points for Ephrata which plays Mount Baker (14-10) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the opening round of the Class 2A State Tournament in Yakima.

“We’re going to try to use the loss to motivate the guys that we are now playing state level competition,” Evenson said. “We will need to play with that type of intensity every single night.”