Wahluke wins 3, rises to 1st in boys basketball
Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Wahluke Senior Nathan Buck, who had an all-around great first half to keep his mates in the game, glides toward the basket for two points.
Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Corbin Christensen of Royal and Sergio Pineda and several teammates stake out position as they wait for a rebound to come down in the game at Wahluke Friday.
MATTAWA — Everything came up roses for the Wahluke High School boys basketball team last week. The Warriors swept three games and woke up Sunday morning at the top of the SCAC East.
“I felt happy for the boys,” coach Clayton Buck said Sunday afternoon. “Their hard work and dedication is deserving of a first place.”
Now all the Warriors need to do is hang on to the top spot this week while playing very good second-place Warden twice. They played at home last night, too late for Sun Tribune press time.
The Warriors play at Warden tomorrow night, and Friday they will close the season at Burbank.
The Warriors come into this week at 14-2 overall and 10-1 in league. Warden is at 13-4 and 9-2. Both teams are headed to the district tournament. All that’s left to decide this week is the seeding.
Last week’s action demonstrated just how much this team has developed over the year. It bottled up College Place, 70-53, outran Royal, 66-37, and dropped College Place again, 68-54.
The critical game was the one with Royal. The Knights had just knocked off Othello and were primed for an upset. They made it close until the half, with Wahluke leading 24-19, but faded in the second half.
“Royal played good defense in the first half and forced us to take long shots,” coach Buck said. “We missed most of them.”
At halftime, Coach Buck told his boys “to pick up the defense, anticipate the passing lane and push the ball on offense. Don’t settle for outside shots, make the extra pass and look for inside jumpers.”
Coach Buck said defense, communication and teamwork got the Warriors through the first half. Especially noteworthy in the first 16 minutes was the leadership of senior Nathan Buck, with his overall effort in scoring, blocks, steals and assists.
The player who picked things up in the second half was 6-3 Sergio Pineda. Royal held him to eight points in the first half, but he finished with 27 for the game and 11 in the fourth period.
Pineda added 15 rebounds and five assists to his effort. Nathan Buck finished with 13 points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots.
The third member of Wahluke’s big three, Ricky Cabrera, scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists. The rest of the scoring was Shad Fayard 6, Alex Valdez 4, Francisco Espindola 2, Abraham Olivarez 2 and Josh Gatica 2. Valdez had nine rebounds.
“This was a solid game from start to finish against our rivals the Royal Knights. The gym was filled, and the team thrived off the crowd’s spirit,” Coach Buck said.
The College Place games were not expected to be major challenges, and they weren’t. The best news to come out of those matchups was Buck’s good sportsmanship.
Buck could have allowed his boys to score 90 or 100 points, but he backed them off both nights as soon as there was a comfortable lead. The bench played more than usual.
“Great game from the supporting bench,” Coach Buck said.
Wahluke broke on top, 22-6, after one quarter on its own floor. It took a 26-6 first-quarter lead at College place.
Pineda led at home with 22 points, Buck scored 12, and Olivarez put down 11. The rest of the scoring was Cabrera 8, Gatica 6, Ulysses Gonzalez 4, Espindola 3, Fayard 2 and Valdez 2.
At College Place, it was Pineda leading the way with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Cabrera had 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals, while Nathan Buck had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and five steals.