Lions knock off another powerhouse

SUNNYSIDE  - The Moses Lake Christian Academy (MLCA) boys basketball team did it again. This time the victim was No. 5 ranked Sunnyside Christian (SC), as they upset the Knights in a thriller, 35-33 Tuesday.

"This was a battle between two team teams that did not want to go down," coach Duke Wood said.  "Knocking off ACH at home with one day off then traveling to Sunnyside was tough. But our kids came out with a no lose attitude, played with a lot of heart and got the win."

The Lions are hitting their stride as they have put together back-to-back wins of two top 10 ranked teams in Almira/Coulee-Hartline (No. 2) and SC in the last four days.

"We have been battle tested these last two games giving every bit of effort we could muster," Wood said. "And as a coach, you couldn't ask for a better effort from a group of kids."

The low scoring contest didn't see many balls tickle the net in the first half of action as defense reigned supreme. The Lions led a slim 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and went into the locker room at the half on top of the Knights, 14-6.

"We kept up the intensity in the second quarter as Joe Timofeyev battled every possession with Sunnyside's leading scorer Trevor Wagenaar (33 ppg) on the defensive end holding him in check while the rest of the team stepped up and helped out all over the floor," Wood said. "The only points for SC coming off of two 3-point shots that were very well defended."

Only up by eight points at the break, Wood said the team had to come out without the same kind of defensive effort in the second half of play, if the Lions intended to bring home a victory on a hostile court.

"We knew we had to defend for another two quarters knowing that the defending 1B champions have been through these types of games before," he said. "They were going to come out fired up and hit us with their best effort yet. But we came out of the locker room with the same game plan and the same effort as the first quarter to take a 23-16 lead heading into the fourth."

But the Knights, not about to lie down on their court, made one last ditch effort to pull out the game as they put up 17 points in the final eight minutes of action.

"They were getting desperate trying to conserve time on the clock in the final 55 seconds so they decided to foul us and take their chances with us missing some free throws," Wood said. "But that backfired as we converted at the line  to seal the victory."

The Lions made 13-of 17 attempts from the charity stripe for the game.

Joe Timofeyev led the way for MLCA with 12 points. Lowell Kirkwood added nine points and seven rebounds, Connor Webb tallied seven points and six boards and Thomas Knopp finished with six points and seven rebounds.

"Joe did an outstanding job holding Sunnyside's leading scorer Trevor Wagenaar to 10 points, which is 23 below his average," Wood said. "He made him earn every point he got."

Timofeyev stood out because he was tasked with defending Wagenaar, but Wood said it too an entire team effort to get a road win against the No. 5 ranked Knights.

"The kids played with so much heart and intensity tonight, nothing was going to stand in their way," he said. "We took every punch they had and kept standing for all four quarters."

The win over Sunnyside Christian runs the Lions record to 10-2 overall and 4-0 in league play. MLCA is back in action tonight as the Lions host Cascade Christian at 7:30 p.m., if the weather permits.