New gym, same Lions

MOSES LAKE — Battling foul trouble and injuries, the MLCA/CCS Lions eked out a 62-60 victory over Entiat on Friday, locking up a Senior Night win, their first win in their new gym and a league championship in the process.

Head Coach Emerson Ferguson said the first two goals for this season were to win 10 games and win the Central Washington 1B title. Now, they’re on to districts as the No. 1 seed.

“Goal No. 3 is the district title,” Ferguson said. “We’ve got two games to go to get to that, and then we’ve got to take care of that game.”

Seniors Jeff Boorman and Michael Podolyan had fouled out in the fourth quarter, while juniors Jonah Robertson and Caleb Jones had reentered the game after suffering injuries earlier in the contest.

“For them to show that heart and that dedication to the team in what we’re trying to achieve – which is goal No. 2, winning the league championship – I couldn’t be more proud to coach those types of players,” Ferguson said. “It was awesome to see them come back, and they were impactful when they came back.”

MLCA/CCS also unveiled its new gym, called The Den, on Friday night. Spectators packed the stands to watch the first games played on the hardwood.

“To be able to grind out a win like this in front of a huge crowd, which was awesome, the noise and everything, it really does feel good,” Ferguson said.

Boorman led the Lions with 19 points, many of which came in transition. Jones and freshman Dennis Gulenko tied with 16 points, the second-most for MLCA/CCS.

“It feels good – we could have done better, but it feels good,” Boorman said.

The Lions came out firing in the first quarter, with big plays by Jones and Roberston ending the quarter on a three-pointer from half-court to go up to 18-13 just before the buzzer. MLCA/CCS rode the momentum into the second quarter with back-to-back layups by Boorman, but an Entiat run narrowed the gap to 30-25 at halftime.

“We just came out and were doing everything we wanted to do, and everything was going great,” Ferguson said.

Even under the circumstances, players were treating Friday’s game like business as usual.

“I just had the same mindset that I do every game,” Podolyan said. “Like Coach says, it’s a business trip. We’ve got to take care of business every game.”

MLCA/CCS led 44-38 by the end of the third quarter, but the Tigers began the fourth on a four-point run to cut the deficit to two points, later tying the game at 44.

A 9-2 Lion run immediately followed the tie, and the Lions were able to pull away with their first win on their new home floor with late baskets and free throws by Jones and Gulenko.

“Everyone that I put in stepped up and made big plays at some point,” Ferguson said. “Whether it was free throws, whether it was rebounds, whether it was defense, whether it was moving the ball – everyone that came in did what we needed.”

The win gave MLCA/CCS the No. 1 seed in next week’s Central Washington 1B district tournament, where they will host the play-in winner on Wednesday.

“We can’t think just because we’ve got the No. 1 seed that we’ve got it locked to go to the district championship,” Podolyan said. “We’ve still got tough teams to play on the way there, so we’ve just got to keep going with the same mindset. Now, it’s playoff basketball for us. We’ve got to just finish our job.”

The Lions are remaining humble, even with a 15-3 record this season.

“There’s confidence, and there’s cockiness,” Boorman said. “We’ve got to come in there confident, not cocky.”

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Lions 18-12-14-18 62

Tigers 13-12-13-22 60