BASIN HOOPS REPORT: Entering the final stretch

COLUMBIA BASIN — District tournaments across the Basin are less than two weeks away, with teams in the area fighting for higher seeding in their respective conferences. See below for a look at where Basin squads stand during the final weeks of the regular season.

All scores and records are according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline

Boys 

Coming off back-to-back losses, the Warriors picked up wins over Odessa on Friday night, winning 64-51 at home, before defeating Curlew 62-35 on Tuesday in a non-league contest at home. ACH (5-9) evened its league record at 4-4 with Friday’s win over Odessa, and will host Mary Walker on Friday and Chesterton on Saturday.

Girls

After winning four games in a row from Jan. 5-12, the Warriors lost back-to-back games Friday and Tuesday, first falling 44-32 on the road to Wellpinit before a 39-37 home loss to Curlew – 1B girls basketball’s No. 4 team according to the WIAA’s Rating Percentage Index. 

ACH checks in at No. 15 in 1B girls basketball according to RPI as of Thursday afternoon, one of four teams inside the top 15 in the Northeast 1B league.

Ephrata

Boys

After putting together three-straight wins to open the new year, the Tigers lost their second straight game with a 58-45 home loss to Central Washington Athletic Conference-leading Prosser Tuesday night. Ephrata (7-8) holds a 3-3 record in CWAC games this winter, tied with Selah for fourth in the league as of Thursday afternoon. The Tigers and Vikings played Thursday night, though scores were not available in time for press deadline.

Girls

The Tigers dropped their fifth game in six outings Tuesday, losing 71-53 to Prosser at home. Since returning from the holiday break, Ephrata has lost four of five league contests; 51-50 to East Valley (Yakima), 64-21 to Ellensburg, 80-46 to Grandview and Tuesday’s loss to Prosser. Ephrata’s (9-6) lone win during that stretch was against Othello, winning 67-42 on Jan. 6. After Thursday’s game against Selah, the Tigers travel to East Valley on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague

Boys

The Broncos ended their six-game losing streak Saturday night, going on the road to defeat Jenkins (Chewelah) 43-40. On Tuesday, LRS fell 54-44 to Davenport on the road. 

The 7-9 Broncos host St. George’s on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Girls

With just four games left in the regular season, the LRS Broncos stand at 9-7 after last week’s 59-55 home win over Northwest Christian (Colbert) on Friday and Saturday’s 71-49 road win over Jenkins (Chewelah). However, the Broncos were unable to take down Davenport on Tuesday night, falling 48-39 on the road. 

LRS hosts St. George’s on Friday night before traveling to Liberty (Spangle) on Tuesday.

Moses Lake

Boys

After a week off from its previous game, Moses Lake fell 79-53 in a road game against Eastmont on Saturday. The Mavs (3-10) host travel to Yakima to face Davis on Friday at 7 p.m., the WIAA’s No. 1 team in 4A basketball according to the RPI.

Girls

Moses Lake’s record in Big 9 games dropped to 3-3 with Saturday’s road loss to Eastmont, falling 40-38 to the Wildcats. The Mavs (6-9) travel to league-leading Davis on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

MLCA/CCS

Boys 

The 11-1 Lions picked up their eighth and ninth-straight wins this week, first defeating Soap Lake 64-62 on the road Tuesday night before taking down Waterville-Mansfield 62-37 on Wednesday night on the road. Sophomore Johnny Ferguson led the Lions in scoring in their win Tuesday night with 21 points, with senior Jonah Robertson leading MLCA/CCS with 23 points in the win against the Shockers. 

MLCA/CCS hosts Wilson Creek on Friday night before traveling to Entiat on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s road win over Soap Lake moved the Lions to No. 1 in the WIAA’s RPI

Girls

MLCA/CCS fell in both of its outings this week, first losing 55-15 to Soap Lake on Tuesday before a 52-8 loss to Waterville-Mansfield on Wednesday night. The Lions host Wilson Creek on Friday at 6 p.m.

Othello

Boys

The 5-8 Huskies are still seeking their first CWAC win of the year, traveling to Grandview on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Othello’s Jan. 11 game against Ellensburg was postponed due to weather to Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Girls

With the Jan. 11 road tilt against Ellensburg being postponed, the Huskies will have a 10-day layoff between their Jan. 9 game against East Valley and Friday’s road game against Grandview. Othello (1-12) and the Greyhounds tipoff at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Quincy

Boys

After falling 49-47 in a non-league clash against Royal, Quincy rebounded with a 100-30 win at home against Cascade (Leavenworth) on Tuesday night. The 11-5 Jackrabbits, ranked at No. 7 in the WIAA’s RPI, hosted Chelan on Thursday night though scores were not available in time for press deadline. Quincy entered the game with an 8-1 record in league games, while the Mountain Goats were 6-2 in the Caribou Trail League.

Girls

Despite 23 points from sophomore Chloe Medina, Quincy wasn’t able to overcome a 35-point second half by the Royal Knights Saturday afternoon, falling 60-40 in a non-league clash. On Tuesday, the Jackrabbits improved to 3-5 in the CTL and 5-11 overall with a 51-34 win over Cascade.

Royal

Boys

Royal’s win streak stretched to five games with Tuesday’s 66-44 defeat of College Place, improving to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in the South Central Athletic Conference (East). Before Tuesday’s win, the Knights rattled off wins over Wahluke 75-58 and Quincy 49-47 on back-to-back nights; junior Lance Allred led Royal with 13 points Friday against Wahluke, while junior Ezra Jenks’ nine points were a team-high against the Jackrabbits. Royal travels to Kiona-Benton on Friday before hosting Naches Valley on Saturday.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Knights were No. 11 in the WIAA’s RPI.

Girls

Royal picked up its third and fourth-straight wins Saturday and Tuesday, first defeating Quincy 60-40 thanks to 19 points from junior Audrey Bergeson before winning 50-42 over College Place on Tuesday night, responding from a slow start after scoring six points in the fourth quarter. Bergeson again led the Knights in scoring (14) against the Hawks, followed by senior Brynn Morgan who scored 13 points. Royal (8-6) is 4-0 in SCAC (East) games this winter.

Soap Lake

Boys

Soap Lake lost a closely-contested game against league-leading MLCA/CCS on Tuesday night, falling 64-62 to fall to 6-5 overall this winter. Leading the way for Soap Lake were junior Ruvium Goloborodko’s 23 points, senior Trey Landdeck’s 16 points and senior Pavlo Stoyan’s 14 points.

The Eagles, ranked No. 12 in the WIAA’s RPI, traveled to Pateros on Thursday night, but scores were not available in time for press deadline.

Girls

The Eagles improved to 8-4 with back-to-back wins over MLCA/CCS on Tuesday and the Ephrata junior varsity team Wednesday, winning 55-15 and 32-24, respectively. After Thursday’s road game against Pateros, the Eagles host Waterville-Mansfield on Saturday night and travel to Wilson Creek on Monday.

Wahluke

Boys

After Wahluke’s seven-game win streak was snapped earlier last week in a loss to Kiona-Benton, the Warriors lost their second-straight game Friday night with a 75-58 loss to Royal; senior Andrew Yorgesen led the Warriors with 20 points in the loss – hitting six three-pointers – and was followed by junior River Buck with 15 points. Wahluke’s two-game skid ended Tuesday with a 76-52 road win against Connell.

Standing at 12-3, Wahluke checks in at No. 10 in 1A boys basketball according to the WIAA’s RPI.

Girls

The Warriors lost both of their games last week, first a 58-26 home loss to Royal on  Friday before a 39-20 road loss to Connell on Tuesday. Up this week for the Warriors are back-to-back home games against Toppenish and Wapato on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Warden

Boys

Led by junior Anthony Gutierrez’s 23 points, the Cougars picked up their second Eastern Washington Athletic Conference (East) win of the year with Friday’s 74-56 win over River View at home. The following day, Warden fell in a 69-47 game to Tri-Cities Prep. 

Over the next week, Warden (5-13) travels to Walla Walla Valley on Tuesday and hosts Columbia (Burbank) on Friday. Both games tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

Girls

The Cougars (14-3) remain unbeaten in league games this winter after defeating River View 76-16 and Tri-Cities Prep 72-32 on back-to-back nights last week, moving to 4-0 in the EWAC (East). 

Warden stands at No. 7 in 2B girls basketball as of Thursday afternoon, with all three of their losses coming to other top-10 teams in their respective classifications; Davis (No. 8 in 4A), Prosser (No. 4 in 2A) and Cashmere (No. 10 in 1A).

Wilson Creek

Boys

Wilson Creek stands at 4-1 in Central Washington B games this winter, having defeated Cascade Christian 75-54 on Monday night at home to improve to 4-4 overall. The Devils travel to MLCA/CCS on Friday night before hosting Thorp Saturday afternoon.

Girls

The Devils improved to 5-3 overall with Monday’s 30-24 win over Cascade Christian, moving to 3-2 in Central Washington B league contests. Wilson Creek travels to MLCA/CCS on Friday before hosting Soap Lake on Monday night.

    The Wahluke Warriors got back in the win column with Tuesday’s 76-52 road win over Connell.
  

    The Warden Cougars improved to 14-3 with wins over River View and Tri-Cities Prep over the weekend.
  

    Royal won its fifth straight game Tuesday night, a winning streak that includes a 49-47 win over Quincy on Saturday night.