Wahluke boys basketball roll on in SCAC East hoops

Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Nathan Buck lays in two easy points against River View.

Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Sergio Pineda flies high against River View to score on a jump shot from near the free throw line.

by Ted Escobar
| January 31, 2017 12:00 AM

Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Sergio Pineda flies high against River View to score on a jump shot from near the free throw line.

MATTAWA — The Wahluke High School boys basketball team continued to roll last weekend with a 56-47 victory at Kiona-Benton and a 59-42 conquest of River View.

The victories separated the Warriors from the pack in the SCAC East. At 7-1 (11-2 overall) they established a grip on a district tournament berth in February.

The Warriors will have a chance to sew up a tournament berth this week, playing three SCAC East contests they could sweep.

The Warriors hosted struggling College Place last night. They will host Royal Friday night and Travel to College Place on Saturday.

At Ki-Be, Wahluke broke on top after one quarter, 16-7, and stretched the lead to 16 points with a 17-10 third quarter. Ki-Be rallied in the fourth period, but the effort was too little, too late.

Ricky Cabrera led the Warrior charge with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Sergio Pineda added 16 points, 12 rebounds and four steals.

Nathan Buck scored 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists; Ulysses Gonzalez scored seven points, three rebounds, and three assists; Abraham Olivarez had three points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Francisco Espindola had two points and three rebounds.

“We played a good game, communicated on the floor and moved the ball well,” coach Clayton Buck said. “Our defense is improving every game.”

The Warriors were explosive on offense against River View on Saturday. But the name of the game was defense. Wahluke held the Panthers to single digits in each of the first three quarters.

Nathan Buck led the team this time with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Pineda scored 13 points, took down 16 rebounds and handed out two assists.

Alex Valdez scored 10 points and snagged seven rebounds; Abraham Olivarez scored nine points and two rebounds; Josh Gatica scored five points; Ricky Cabrera had three points, two rebounds and eight assists and Ulysses Gonzalez had two points and two rebounds.

“Playing at home in front of the supportive crowd brought out our best defensive game of the year,” coach Buck said. “The players had excellent teamwork and communicated well throughout the game.”