ACH boys look to make noise at state

SPOKANE — It’s the big city and bright lights for three area basketball teams headed to the Class B State Basketball Tournament at the Spokane Arena. The No. 1-ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline boys (23-0) roll into town undefeated and will face No. 2 Seattle Lutheran in the 2 p.m. game on Thursday. The Warriors won a 1B state championship in 2012 and are certainly on track to play for another one in 2015-16.

This is ACH coach Graham Grindy’s first trip to the state tournament as the head man. “I’m excited,” he said. “We started from ground zero a couple of years ago. We were 5-15 two years ago and with these guys we’ve just continued to improve.” Class 2B The Lind-Ritzville-Sprague boys (18-10) go into the 2B tournament on a five-game winning streak. The Broncos will face No. 4 Life Christian Academy (24-2) from the Seattle area in the 7:15 p.m. game on Thursday. The Broncos have nine seniors in their top 10 players and have been to the Arena three times in the past four years. Coach Dustan Arlt doesn't see any problems with nerves going in.

"In looking at the program, we're probably the smallest team there, but we have a lot of quickness that should help us out," Arlt said, who is in his seventh season.

"We want to get it up-tempo. We play a lot of guards that are probably our better shooters. Playing strong defense and blocking out and rebounding will be huge. I kind of like being the underdog. All the pressure is on them and there's isn't really on us." Girls 1B The road to the 1B championship has gone through Colton for the past decade and the six-time state champion Wildcats are the team to beat again this year. Almira/Coulee-Hartline will see No. 1 Colton right out of the gate in the 6:30 p.m. game. “When it comes to playing in the Spokane Arena, even I feel a little like a deer in the headlights. It’s a big deal and it should be,” head coach Mike Correira said. “But at the same time, once you get there and play a quarter, you realize it’s a basketball game again and you just go out and play.” For Warrior senior Brenna Oliver, she’ll finish high school career her first trip to the Arena. “It’s my senior year and my first time to the state tournament,” said Oliver. “I’ve been dreaming about this forever and I am so excited to finally get my chance. We take a lot of pride in our defense. Sometimes shots aren’t always falling, but playing hard on defense is something you can control. I’ really looking forward to this.”