MLCA boys basketball tops Wahluke

MOSES LAKE - Three players scored in double figures as the Moses Lake Christian Academy boys team held on to beat Wahluke 52-49 last night in the annual Christmas Tournament on the Lions home court.

Lowell Kirkwood came off the bench in the second half to score 13 points and pull down five rebounds to lead the way for MLCA. Connor Webb added 11 points and seven boards, Joe Timofeyev knocked down 11 points, and seldom used Quade Godfrey finished with eight.

"It was a great win for the team," coach Duke Wood said. "The guys fought back and never quit."

The Warriors jumped out to a 6-0 lead. MLCA was held of the scoreboard for the first four minutes until Webb scored a bucket to close the gap to 6-2. The teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter, but Wahluke was able to come out on top 10-8.

The second quarter of action saw MLCA take its first lead of the game, 14-13 at the mid-way point. But Wahluke battle back and went on an 11-7 run to go up 24-21 at the break.

"I talked to the kids at halftime and told them we needed to stay out of foul trouble and that were were going to switch from man-to-man to a zone defense," Wood said. "Wahlkue had a lot of smaller, quicker kids on the floor and we had trouble matching up with our big men."

The adjustment on defense wasn't successful as the Lions failed to make up any ground as the Warriors out scored the home team 15-13 to take a 39-34 lead at the end of the third quarter.

"They actually built a 10 point lead on us on the strength of several 3-point shots," Wood said. "So we went back to man-to-man to put pressure on them and try to create some turnovers."

The strategic move worked out for the Lions as the team fought back to take a 50-49 lead with nine seconds left in the game.

"We were in possession of the ball at the end so Wahluke had to foul to try and get it back," Wood said. "Joe (Timofeyev) stepped up big and responded with two free throws to put us up 52-49 and seal the win."

MLCA is back in action Jan. 6 when the team hits the road to take on the Wilson Creek Devils.