Royal boys get first season win against Wahluke

ROYAL CITY - The Royal High School boys finally have a basketball victory, tipping arch-rival Wahluke, 58-52, Saturday night in the final game for both schools before the Christmas break.

The contest was an even-steven affair all of the way. After a 12-12 first-quarter tie, Royal won the next three, 15-13, 12-10 and 19-17.

"We were fairly balanced," coach Pete Christensen said. "It was a battle from tip off to the final buzzer."

"It was a big boost for our kids," Christensen added. "We have put a lot of effort into trying to increase our game, and things are starting to move our direction. We have a very competitive league this year. We will have to keep focusing on the areas that will move us to the next level."

Scoring for Royal were Jonathan Partida 16, Aaron Johnson 13, Riley Lefler 11, Kaden Jenks 8, Teddy Mead 8, and Payten Stakkeland 2.

Wahluke had the game's leading scorer in Oscar Onofore with 18 points. Ramos and Alan Caro scored 9, Ahmann 8, Kinney 6, and Barajas 2.

"We were finally in the drivers seat at the end of the game, where we could control the tempo and outcome of the game," Christensen said. "The kids, as always, played hard through out. We have a great group of guys that work well together. It will be a fun run for a district position."

Royal's first game last week, on Friday, was not as good. The Knights fell to River View, 72-53.

"We played better after we struggled in the first quarter with River View's press. It was a different front than any we have seen so far, and they rotated real well. After we settled down we played fairly well.

The good news from both weekend games was improved shooting. The Knights hit better than 40 percent from the field both nights.

Scoring for Royal were Kaden Jenks 13, Teddy Mead 10, Riley Lefler 8, Jonathan Partida 7, Payten Stakkeland 6, Austin Walz 4, and Aaron Johnson 3.