Late Moses Lake rally falls short at Davis
YAKIMA - Let's review.
Davis High School is a Class 4A state participant last year that returned plenty of talent. They played host to a Moses Lake Chiefs boys basketball team that didn't qualify for the district playoffs in 2009-2010 and just recently eclipsed that year's win total - four.
Last night, early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs trailed 58-56 with a chance to tie as two free throws beckoned.
Those tosses would ultimately miss and the hosts would slowly pull away for a 75-63 Big 9 win.
Make no mistake though, Moses Lake announced their intentions of being a tough out the rest of the season even if no one on the Chiefs' bench would even dream to claim a moral victory.
"I am disappointed, because I thought we had a real good shot," Chiefs head coach John Hohman said. "The kids are disappointed because they really gave it all they got."
Disappointment may be the biggest positive for the Chiefs (4-8, 1-3) coming off of a tough defeat that recently was rated as one of the top teams in Class 4A.
Moses Lake trailed 18-16 after the first quarter and kept things close, staying within 41-34 at intermission.
The one thing Davis kept at was a full court press that they employed all game, forcing 28 Chiefs turnovers.
"They pressed us all game long and I thought we did some good stuff against it, despite the turnovers," Hohman said. "My guys played so tough and played consistently. We still got a way to go to clean stuff up, We just got to make sure that everything we are working on that our execution is better. This is the time that we have to start doing it."
The Chiefs got within 57-53 heading into the final eight minutes and once their opportunity to tie fell away, the hosts slowly crept further ahead and staved off the Moses Lake threat.
"Davis are not going to get rattled, they were an experienced team," Hohman said. "I thought we just followed our game plan and we just didn't close."
Matt Franz led Moses Lake with 17 points, Gabe Porter added 15 points, and Kyler Moats finished with 10 points.
Matt Adame led the Chiefs with 11 rebounds, while Moses Lake were outscored 29-9 on points off of turnovers.
Despite the near miss, Hohman didn't believe it was anything over-the-top that led to the team's performance. Actually, it was a performance he was anything but surprised to have witnessed.
"I just thought we played to our ability," Hohman said. "I don't know if any of these kids had anything left in the tank. They played that hard and that's how you have to play night in and night out especially if you want to get to the playoffs. We just have to take it to another level."