‘One point and about three seconds’

EPHRATA — Ephrata boys basketball coach Rick Walter detailed the difference between the Tigers and the Quincy Jacks in Ephrata’s 61-60 overtime win Wednesday in Ephrata.

“One point and about three seconds,” Walter said.

Hayden Roberts hit the winning shot with about two seconds left, after Julian Ibarra had given the Jacks the lead, 60-59, with about eight seconds left. Quincy’s Pierce Bierlink got off a shot at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim.

“That last shot almost went in,” Walter said.

“What it boils down to is they made one more play than us,” Quincy coach Scott Bierlink said.

Bierlink said the Jacks made a couple of mistakes late and missed a couple of offensive rebounds.

“That’s probably the game right there,” he said. “We didn’t execute there at the end.”

The game was close from the first quarter. Quincy jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Ephrata came back on a drive by Roberts to tie the game at 12 at the first-quarter buzzer. Ephrata led 21-19 at the half.

Quincy’s Aiden Bews cut behind the defense and scored on a pass over the top to cut the lead to 23-21 at the start of the third quarter, but Max Hewitt of Ephrata came back with a three-point play. Bierlink hit two free throws to give the Quicy the lead with 21 seconds left in the third quarter, but Ephrata’s Cody Black scored as time ran out and Ephrata took a 31-29 lead into the fourth.

Quincy took the lead again with four points from Bierlink and a dunk by Bews, but Ephrata came back again. Travis Hendrick gave the Tigers a 51-49 lead; Ibrarra hit two free throws and the game was tied at 51 at the end of regulation.

Quincy took another lead at the start of overtime, but Ephrata came back once more and was leading 59-58 with about 49 seconds left. That set the stage for Ibarra’s basket and Roberts’ answering shot.

“That’s a Quincy-Ephrata rivalry,” Bierlink said. “That gym was packed.”

“This is my first year, but I would assume it’s typical,” Walter said. “I know their coach pretty well - we went to college together. So I knew his team would play hard.”

Bierlink said players and coaches from both schools do know each other pretty well.

“We’re rivals, and yet we’re connected at the same time,” he said.

Walter said he was pleased with the response of his players in a close game.

“Our kids answered the bell,” Walter said. “We play hard too. Execution down the stretch wasn’t great for us at times. But it’s high school basketball - there are going to be bad plays and great plays. A lot of emotion.”

It was the second game in two nights for Quincy. The Jacks defeated Cascade (Leavenworth) 82-42 on the road Tuesday. Bierlink said Quincy is still trying to integrate new starters into their lineup, and still have some work to do.

“We’re not quite there yet,” he said.

Both Quincy and Ephrata starters played most of Wednesday’s game, and Walter said he was pleased with the way his bench responded.

“It’s fun to watch them cheer each other on, and I think our bench was great, too. A lot of kids didn’t play tonight, but when you go in (at the end of the game) and everybody’s happy and no one is pouting, that’s a sign of building the right thing,” Walter said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.