Omak takes down Quincy in CTL title game

WENATCHEE — The Omak Pioneers cut down the nets at Wenatchee High School on Friday night after knocking off the No. 1 seed Quincy Jackrabbits 71-52 in the Caribou Trail League district title game.

Omak used an early 13-1 first-quarter lead to ride out to a 19-point win over the Jacks.

“You can’t get off to a poor start like that and expect to win,” Quincy Head Coach Scott Bierlink said. “We made a run there in the third (quarter) and had a chance – just didn’t play well.”

Quincy managed to cut the Omak lead to just seven points multiple times in the third quarter, but the Pioneers were able to end their scoring runs but stepping up on defense.

“They started getting us there in the third quarter so we switched defenses, and we defended really well,” Omak Head Coach Geoffrey Pearson said.

The Jacks had a chance to shorten the lead to three points at the end of the third quarter, but a missed free throw lead to an Omak layup in transition just before the buzzer.

“It seemed like every time we made a run they would come down and we just couldn’t (capitalize),” Bierlink said. “Whether it was a turnover or rebound by them, it wasn’t our night.”

The Pioneers continued their “scrappy” defensive play in the fourth, leading them to the win.

“We probably had 20-plus turnovers, and when you turn the ball over, you can’t win,” Bierlink said.

Quincy’s first two possessions of the night ended with turnovers, which allowed Omak to start their 13-1 run to begin the CTL championship game.

“We pride ourselves on defense, we pride ourselves on grinding and then we run,” Pearson said. “We run as hard as we can, and we got out and defended really well. They only had one point for most of that (first quarter).”

The first-quarter Pioneer start set the tone for the rest of the night.

“It was real difficult (to come back from), that was my worst fear,” Bierlink said. “We worked all week long on taking care of the ball. We know they’re scrappy, that’s how they beat Chelan the other night… they came out and wanted it more than we did.”

Pearson credited the fluidity of the Omak players in leading the Pioneers to victory.

“Our strength is our quickness and our bench, and they’re all interchangeable – they can all play every position,” Pearson said. “They play that hard every day at practice. It wasn’t new to us. The result was kind of new to us – Quincy’s good, I didn’t expect that.”

Friday night was the fourth meeting of the season between the Jacks and Pioneers, which Quincy holding a 2-1 advantage in the series entering the game.

“This is the fourth time we’ve played them, and the first three times we were down 18 at half,” Pearson said.

Quincy has another chance to advance to the 1A District 6/7 Crossover and will take on the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Cashmere and Chelan.

“We’re going to have to just flush this,” Bierlink said. “This should burn for these boys, but we’ll practice (Saturday). We’ve got to find a way to take care of the ball and play tougher. Hopefully, we’ll flush it and move on, got to be resilient. We’ve still got a chance to extend the season.”

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

Box Score

Quincy - 7-16-19-10 52

Omak - 17-16-16-22 71