Othello boys close hoops season with 1-3 week
OTHELLO — The wins were few and far between for the Othello boys basketball team, but the Huskies did wrap up the season playing some of their best ball.
The Huskies beat Quincy on Thursday on Senior Night and went right to the wire in the season finale, losing 64-60 to Prosser on Friday.
Othello coach George Juarez has something to build on with seven returning players. For guys like Joseph Lopez, Adrian Garza, Elias Valdez, Austin Henley, Jose Gomez and Trenton Cutforth, the win over Quincy was something to be proud of.
“We haven’t had that many wins this year, so I was happy for the kids. It was nice for them to leave the court with a win on Senior Night,” said Juarez, whose team finished with eleven 3-point baskets.
“We’ve always had low-scoring games with Quincy,” he added. “But there were a lot of shots taken and a lot of shots made.”
Othello 85, Quincy 72
Cutforth had a Senior Night to remember, wrapping up his final home game with 27 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Huskies past Quincy in a Central Washington Athletic Conference shootout.
The two teams have won just five games combined this season, but they let it fly with 53 combined points in the fourth quarter.
Garza (14), Lopez (12) and Cutforth (27) combined for 53 of the Huskies’ 85 points. Othello finished the season 3-18 and 3-15 in the Central Washington Athletic Conference.
Selah 80, Othello 53
Othello got hit with a big punch early by conference-leading Selah and never recovered. Vikings guard Elijah Pepper scored 14 points in first quarter and outscored the Othello Huskies in the first half all by himself.
The 6-foot-2 Viking sophomore had 23 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and Selah Vikings (16-3, 15-2 CWAC) rolled over the Huskies.
“We got into some kind of funk, honestly. But we tried our hardest,” Valdez said. “We didn’t give it a go in the first quarter and by the time we rebounded in the second half it was too late.”
Adrian Garza came off the bench and scored 10 for the Huskies.
“It’s been a long season, but we still play with pride,” Valdez said. “We still keep our heads up and work hard every day in practice. We have a lot of character and potential. I think If we play more in the summer, we’d be able to get the pieces in place.”
Jose Gomez finished the game with six points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Huskies. Trevor Hilmes, 6-foot-1 junior, had four of his eight points in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the most productive as the Huskies finished with 21 points in the final eight minutes.