Ephrata withstands late Othello rally to keep playoff hopes alive

EPHRATA — The vibe inside the gym was off.

Head coach Brandon Evenson felt it, his players felt it and the fans felt it.

The pressure was high as Ephrata needed a win to keep its district playoff hopes intact so it was understandable when the shots weren’t falling early. Othello ground out an 8-7 lead after the first quarter before Cameron Clark picked up Ephrata.

The senior scored 16 points in the second quarter and 34 for the game to help the Tigers win 62-54 over the visiting Huskies.

“I don’t think we played well tonight,” Evenson said. “I thought we played well at times when we needed to. It just had a funky feel tonight like I think our kids felt the pressure that we needed to win so I’m hoping tomorrow they can relax a little bit and play a little better.”

With the win, Ephrata is now in the playoffs.

Sort of.

A win over East Valley today would move Ephrata into the No. 5 seed. However, a loss to the Red Devils coupled with a Toppenish win over Quincy would set up a tiebreaker game between the Tigers and Wildcats Saturday in Selah.

Perhaps a fitting end to a CWAC regular season that has the third place and ninth place team separated by just four wins.

For Othello, who pulled within three points in the final minute, Thursday’s loss was another missed opportunity in a season filled with them.

After a playing at a pace that favored Othello in the first quarter, Ephrata got out in the open floor to start the second and totaled 25 points. Clark’s 16 points in the period powered the Tigers to as large of a lead as 10.

“Cam’s that way,” Evenson said. “When he’s feeling it we kind of give him the ball. He kind of overdid it a few times tonight, but you kind of take the good with the bad with Cam and the good always outweighs the bad.”

The Huskies stormed back in the second half behind Trenton Cutforth’s 11 points. Cutforth knocked in back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game, 41-41, before he suffered a right knee injury in the final minute of the third quarter.

Cutforth did not return to the game and finished with 20 points.

“Collin’s (Ahmann) usually a pretty good defender and he did a nice job on him (Cutforth),” Evenson said. “He gave him a couple looks that hurt, but Trenton’s a stud. He’s a stud and you’ve just to go slow everybody else down. He’s going to get his points and I thought for the most part we did a nice job.

“I’m sad to see him get injured ‘cause he’s a great kid.”

Othello took a brief 43-42 lead when Michael Gutierrez scored. However, Clark’s reverse layup to beat the buzzer gave Ephrata a 44-43 lead entering the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Ephrata was able to make its free throws to salt the game away after Othello got as close as three points.

Girls basketball

Ephrata 62, Othello 46

EPHRATA — Ephrata led by as many as 25 points and withstood a late rally by Othello to win 62-46.

Up 54-29 in the fourth quarter, Ephrata allowed Othello’s Hadassi Valdez to catch fire from distance and pull her team within 13 points after a 12-0 run.

The Tigers’ starters were reinserted and staved off the Huskies.

A win over East Valley tomorrow and a loss by Wapato would move Ephrata into at least the No. 4 seed or the No. 3 seed depending on its tiebreaker with the Red Devils.