MLCA boys defeat Thorp, ACH

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Christian Academy (MLCA) boys basketball team had a successful weekend of hoops, beating Thorp on the road Friday, and knocking off No. 2 Ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline (ACH) at home Saturday.

MLCA 56

ACH 41

The atmosphere at the MLCA gymnasium had a feel of post season play as the facility was packed for the game between the host Lions and the ACH Warriors.

The home team got the crowd into the game early as the Lions took a 16-9 lead at the end of the first eight minutes of action and led 31-17 at the break.

"We came out and played a good first quarter while holding ACH to nine points," coach Duke Wood said. "This was a big confidence booster that just keep getting bigger with every quarter gone by. At halftime we had a 14 point lead, which we knew was not big enough against a high powered offense." 

The Warriors did mount a comeback of sorts and make a game of it as ACH put 14 second half points on the board. But it wasn't enough to pull out a victory as MLCA racked up 25 points over the final 16 minutes of action to win going away.

"We really come out with intensity and put a full four quarters of effort," Wood said. "This really meant a lot for all these seniors tonight to finally get a well deserved win against a very good ACH team. I am proud of these kids. They worked their tails off."

The Lions got balanced scoring from the team as four players hit for double figures. Leading the way for MLCA was Joe Timofeyev who scored 13 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Lowell Kirkwood added 13 points, six boards and five assists. Thomas Knopp had 12 points and eight rebounds, Connor Webb tallied 11 points and six boards, and Alex Allsbrook brook finished with seven points to round out the Lions scoring.

The Warriors Derek Isaak had 25 points in the losing effort for ACH.

THORP - Lowell Kirkwood knocked down 17 points, dished out 12 assists and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Lions to an 81-11 win over the Tigers Friday. The game was never in doubt as MLCA led 20-2 at the end of the first quarter, and built a 46-5 lead at intermission. Thorp only managed six points in the second half of play to the Lions 35 and dropped the game by 70 points.

Paul Torres chipped in 16 points, Austin Ray added 13 and Knopp finished with 11 points in the one-sided victory.

"Thorp is a very young team still learning the game," Wood said. "Our defense really disrupted any offense they tried running, which led to many easy baskets in the first half of play. We went to a zone in the second half to slow the tempo down and work some clock.  It was good for everybody to play quality minutes and get to score some points."

The Lions are back in action tomorrow night when the team travels to Sunnyside Christian to take on the Knights.