Royal boys split two close ones
Guard Edgar Ramirez of Royal and a Warden defender collide as Ramirez goes airborne for a shot.
ROYAL CITY — The Royal boys split a couple of prep basketball games last weekend and continued to show they could be competitive in the SCAC East by mid-January.
The Knights defeated Wahluke, 43-38, on the Warrior floor on Friday. On Saturday they were unable to hold a 21-18 halftime lead and fell, 57-54, to Warden.
On the good news side, the Knights got double figure scoring from 6-2 Kaden Jenks. Sophomore Corbin Christensen proved to be a ball hawk on the board, taking down 12 rebounds one night and 12 the next.
Team shooting efficiency continued to be a problem. The Knights made 30 percent of their attempts against Wahluke and 26 percent against Warden.
Royal took a 3-point first quarter lead on Wahluke and never gave it up. But Wahluke did have a mild 13-8 comeback in the fourth period.
Corbin Christensen and Jenks shot better than the team average at 43 and 44 percent respectively and finished with 14 and 11 points. Isaac Ellis shot 50 percent, but he took only four shots.
“We had a little trouble holding onto the ball (28 turnovers), coach Pete Christensen said. “We are improving with each game, but we are looking forward to the five day stretch during our Christmas break to practice and be able to implement a few more wrinkles in our offense.”
Jenks had a big rebounding night with 13 boards. The Ellis brothers, Isaac and Owen, pulled down six rebounds each. Guard Edgar Ramirez led the defense with three steals.
The Warden game was a barn burner played on the Cougar court. Every quarter was a battle, with royal winning the first two, 12-8 and 10-9. Warden took the third and fourth 15-11 and 24-22.
Jenks continued to shoot better than the team at 38 percent, leading the team with 15 points. Carson Gilbert added 10 points, but Corbin Christensen fell off to nine points on 18 percent shooting.
On the other hand, Corbin Christensen led the Knights with 12 rebounds, Jenks had 10.
The Knights played at Highland last night. They will travel to Kittitas tonight. They will take a break and hit it again at Connell on Jan. 2.